Islamabad : The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
(ICBC) - the country's largest commercial bank - has opened a branch
each in the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Islamabad, Xinhua reported.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony in Islamabad Friday,
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said the ICBC initiative to open
branches in Pakistan would begin a new era of cooperation in the
banking sector of the two countries.
'The opening of ICBC branches, which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, will take the economic relations between the two countries to new heights,' Zardari said.
The president hoped the ICBC's investment in Pakistan would prove to be profitable and that the bank would play a prominent role in channeling bilateral investments.
Huang Xilian, China' Charge d'Affairs in Pakistan, said the economic and trade cooperation between China and Pakistan is entering a new historical stage.
ICBC President Yang Kaisheng said the increasingly closer economic ties between the two countries laid a sound foundation for ICBC's development in Pakistan. IANS
