Habib Bank of Pakistan becomes first Pakistani bank to offer services in Chinese RMB in China
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URUMQI: Habib Bank Ltd now offers end-to-end intermediation for Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB), allowing customers to now open RMB accounts.
This makes HBL the first bank from Pakistan, and one of the three banks from South Asia and the MENA region, to do so.
The bank’s branch in Urumqi, in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, formally commenced RMB business on 7 November 2019, after obtaining regulatory approval.
The branch was opened in March 2017 and acquired the RMB licence in June 2018. It is the only foreign bank branch operating in the northwestern province.
HBL Chairman Sultan Ali Allana and HBL CEO Muhammad Aurangzeb were present in Urumqi to formally commence the RMB business. Members of the HBL’s board of directors and other executives were also there.
“We are doubling up our business in China and it will soon become a second home market for HBL. For our branch in Urumqi we got the RMB licence in the shortest possible time, so we are very grateful to the regulators in China,” said Aurangzeb.
