Banker Fears Flow of Chinese Goods on Silk Road in Pakistan
- Cheap Chinese imports may leave millions of Pakistanis jobless
- Pakistan’s Bank Alfalah plans to double deposits in five years
A vendor arranges a display of shoes in a market in Karachi, Pakistan, on Sunday, May 31, 2015.
Photographer: Asim Hafeez/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
As Pakistan opens itself to China’s Silk Road plan and billions of dollars worth of investment projects, the head of the bank owned by the Abu Dhabi Group is warning of an influx of cheap goods that may leave millions in the South Asian nation jobless.
While the Chinese investments and loans worth more than $46 billion will bring new industrial activity and a need for services, Pakistan may be unprepared for a rush of wares from its larger neighbor that it can’t compete against, said Atif Bajwa, chief executive officer at Bank Alfalah Ltd., the country’s sixth largest lender.