NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, November 12, 2018

By Areen Zahra

The Competition Commission of Pakistan has approved Alipay Holding Limited (Hong Kong) to acquire 45% shares of Telenor Microfinance Bank Limited.

Alipay is a part of the internet giant Alibaba, which is Chinese retail, internet, technology, and AI company. On the other hand, Telenor Microfinance bank is Pakistan’s first scheduled microfinance bank that provides small loans to people who aim to set up their own business to come out of poverty. The deal between the two is the part of some previously made commitments between the former prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif and the founder of Alibaba group in 2017. Mr. Jack Ma showed his inclination towards investment in Pakistan as he met Mr. Nawaz Sharif while they were, both, on the annual meetings of World Economic Forum.

Photo courtesy of Mags’ pics for everyone.