Thursday, August 28, Shaban 24, 1429    

Shamshad invites Barclays Bank to projects financing

Karachi—Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar on Tuesday invited Barclays Bank (Pakistan) to invest in infrastructure and other development projects in the country.
Acknowledging the significant role of Barclays Bank Pakistan in strengthening the global financial sector , the SBP Chief emphasized “ you can do projects financing here. We need huge investments for infrastructure development.”
She was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of second branch of Barclays Bank ( Pakistan) here at Dawood Centre , which was witnessed by number of bankers and the people from print and electronic media.
She described Barclays’ decision to extend its operations to Pakistan as very encouraging for the financial sector here. She noted that Barclays was successfully operating in many developed and under- developed countries. Whoever comes into Pakistan , she argued , stays for long as high rate of returns and secured investment opportunities are available here.
The SBP Governor noted that Pakistan banking sector has grown significantly over last few years which includes soft and hardware system development. However , she said , still a lot has to be done to achieve the required the level of service. There is huge sector which is unserved in the country. We need more clients.
“ Some years back , the banks’ annual lending to private sector figured around Rs 180 billion. Now it is more than 400 billion rupees, “ she remarked adding that the banks today have big resilience and we will see fast turn-around in Pakistan.
The Central Bank’s Governor sought partnership with Barclays and suggested them to make huge investments in infrastructure and other development projects with assurance of high returns.
In Pakistan, there is potential of 150 billion dollars as long-term and 15 to 20 billion as short-term investments. She said Pakistan has easier economic challenges to face against many other countries in the world.—APP