By Mao Lijun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-21 15:29

Pakistan's United Bank Ltd (UBL) signed a cooperation deal with China Development Bank (CDB) yesterday, after it opened a representative office in Beijing.

UBL will target local companies wanting to go to Pakistan and gulf countries, providing financial services with CDB, Atif R. Bokhari, president and CEO of UBL, said.

"We would also help and provide financial services for companies in the Middle East investing in China," he said.

But the lender isn't interested in the country's retail banking sector, UBL said.

It also wants to set up reciprocal relationships with Chinese banks to assist trade and investment activities between Chinese businesses and UBL customers in other countries.

Under the CDB deal, the two banks will set up a shared platform to promote commercial ties between Chinese investors and UBL clients abroad.

"We would provide mutual financial help for companies in the two countries," Liu Jian'an, deputy director general of CDB, said.

"The agreement would provide guidelines for the two banks' cooperation in the future," he said.

The two will also cooperate on financing trade between China and countries where UBL operates.

China is Pakistan's third largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between the two countries was $5.25 billion at the end of 2006.

Under the Free Trade Agreement signed by China and Pakistan last year, bilateral trade between the two countries will increase to $15 billion by 2012.

UBL has a network of more than 1,000 branches in Pakistan and has a presence in more than 10 countries. Its international business contributes over 20 percent of the bank's profits, the lender said.