KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar on Tuesday invited Barclays Bank (Pakistan) to invest in infrastructure and other development projects in the country.

Acknowledging the significant role of Barclays Bank Pakistan in strengthening the global financial sector, the SBP chief emphasised “you can do project financing here. We need huge investments for infrastructure development.”

She was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the second branch of Barclays Bank (Pakistan) here at Dawood Centre.

Whoever comes into Pakistan, she said, stays for long as high rate of returns and secured investment opportunities are available here.

The SBP governor noted that the Pakistan banking sector has grown significantly over the last few years which includes soft and hardware system development.

“Some years back, the banks’ annual lending to the private sector figured around Rs180 billion. Now it is more than 400 billion rupees,” she said, adding that the banks today have big resilience and we will see fast turnaround in Pakistan.

The central bank’s governor sought partnership with Barclays and suggested them to make huge investments in infrastructure and other development projects with assurance of high returns. In Pakistan, there is potential of 150 billion dollars as long-term and 15 to 20 billion as short-term investments. She admitted that sentiments in Pakistan are not favourable for foreign investors, but the same situation prevails in other Asian states as well.