Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Group Chairman, Jose Vinals says that today’s Pakistan is very different from the Pakistan that was 10 years ago. Mr. Jose is currently visiting Pakistan and this was the first ever trip by any SCP Group Chairman to the country.
Mr. Jose spoke to ProPakistani at the SCB Pakistan Head Office Karachi recently. He’s positive about the country’s future prospects, seeing how Pakistan has overcome some challenging tasks and is currently working on the China Pakistan Economic Trade Corridor (CPEC). He believes that the CPEC will provide the necessary boost to the country’s economy.
During his visit, Jose Vinals called upon to Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Shareef, acting Governor State Bank of Pakistan Riaz Raizuddin and other officials.
Talking about his meeting with PM and other high officials Jose Vinals says that everyone is very confident about the economy of the country.
“This is the first time Pakistan has completed an IMF program , where democracy has strengthened, macroeconomic indicators are positive. I can say that Pakistan is going in the right direction.”
Jose further said that Pakistan needs to reduce its trade and current account deficit, increase productivity, control inflation, and also have a long term focus on education.
“SCB is working in 70 countries including the USA. We are the world’s local bank. Pakistan is ranked in top 10 countries where SCB operates. The Pakistani business community is thriving and has a good financial partner in SCB. We will provide all type of banking solutions for both retail and corporate purposes,” Jose told.
CPEC
Mr Jose Vinals says that CPEC can help resolve infrastructural constraints and bottlenecks. This project will help in facilitating two way trade and investment between the neighboring countries since SCB is the only bank which is located in both Pakistan and China.
“SCB has the ability to finance projects. We are able to raise financing for mega projects and connect CPEC projects with world financial centers like London, Singapore and Hong Kong”
“We know both (China and Pakistan) markets and their business environment. Chinese companies don’t have knowledge about Pakistani companies, local market, legal process and hurdles they might face in Pakistan. Similarly Pakistani companies are reluctant to ink contracts under Chinese law because they don’t know the risk. We can help with this,” Mr. Jose said.
Jose Vinals is excited about the CPEC and One Belt One Road (OBOR) projects. According to him, SCB is present in 45 out of the 65 OBOR countries. For OBOR, 40 agreements worth $20 billion was inked by SCB during 2016.
