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| Selected MENA Press Release |
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IFC and Bank AL Habib Agree to Cooperate for Growth in Trade Finance
In Cairo:
Riham Mustafa
Phone: +202 24 619 140
Fax: +202 24 619 145
E-mail: RMustafa@ifc.org
In Washington, D.C.:
Lotte Pang
Phone: (202) 458 0952
E-mail: lpang@ifc.org
Islamabad, Pakistan, June 19, 2009–IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, today announced that Pakistan’s Bank
AL Habib has joined its Global Trade Finance Program as an issuing bank,
which will help increase the availability of trade finance for local businesses
in Pakistan and support import-export transactions.
The IFC Global Trade Finance Program supports trade with emerging markets
worldwide and promotes the flow of goods and services between developing
countries. IFC provides partial or full guarantees against underlying trade
instruments and covers the payment risk of participating issuing banks.
This allows issuing banks to expand their trade finance transactions within
an extensive network of countries and banks to enhance their trade finance
coverage.
Mr. Zafar Amin, General Manager and Head of Financial Institutions and
International Division Bank AL Habib, said, “We are pleased to join the
Global Trade Finance Program and strongly feel that this partnership would
support our trade finance business offering and enhance our relationship
with correspondent banks worldwide which would further enable us to meet
the needs of our clients and help them increase their business in new markets
around the globe.”
K. Aftab Ahmed, IFC's Regional Manager for Global Financial Markets for
Middle East and North Africa, said, “This partnership demonstrates our
commitment to expand access to finance in Pakistan and specifically to
SMEs. We have already supported our partner banks in Pakistan with more
than $220 million (17 billion Pakistani rupees) trade risk coverage during
this fiscal year. Bank AL Habib is one of the leading trade finance banks
in Pakistan and we hope this partnership would further support country’s
trade flows.”
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people
to escape poverty and improve their lives. It fosters sustainable economic
growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development,
mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation
services to businesses and governments. IFC’s new investments totaled
$16.2 billion in fiscal year 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous
year. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
About Bank AL Habib
Bank AL Habib is sponsored by the Dawood Habib Group and was established
in 1991.The Group also owns and manages banks in United Kingdom and Africa.
Bank AL Habib has a network of 238 branches with a Wholesale Branch in
the Kingdom Of Bahrain. Bank AL Habib Limited offers savings and financing
products to all market segments, and is a leading trade finance bank of
Pakistan.
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