Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said here  that the PML government has decided to encourage and promote Shariah compliant banking in the country. He was taking to the delegation headed by Chief Executive Officer of Bank Alsalam, Bahrain Yousif Taqi, who called on him at the Prime Minister's House.
He said, Pakistan banking sector is expanding rapidly and is a major drivers for growth while meeting the needs of low, middle and high income people as well as small and medium enterprise, large scale manufacturers, traders and all other segments of society.
The regulatory regime, he said, is strong and the Central Bank is effectively performing the banking regulatory function in the country. As a results of this, he added, banks in Pakistan are  well capitalised, growing and meeting diverse customer needs. He said government's consistent and transparent policies and substantive structural reforms have now placed Pakistan on a solid footing and its strong fundamentals guarantee continued growth in future. Pakistan is one of the faster growing economies in Asia and major investments have been received from European Union, USA, Far East and Middle East, he added.
He said that continuity and consistency of policies has given a further boost to the economic activities in the country. Several sectors represent attractive investment opportunities including telecom, IT, financial services, engineering, agribusiness and real estate, he added.
While highlighting the incentives given to the banking sector, he said that all banks being encouraged to undertake asset management, financial advisory services and brokerage business so as to expand and develop this product mix. He said Pakistan is benefiting from reforms and demographic dividends. He said, structural reforms in many sectors including banking, capital markets and telecom have attracted investment, created jobs and provided better quality services.
Yousif Taqi, Chief Executive Officer of ALSALAM Bank showed interest in establishing an Islamic Bank in Pakistan. He said his bank and other stakeholders are interested to invest in Pakistan particularly in the field of energy, power generation and real estate.
He also said that ALSALAM Bank is committed to adopt internationally recognised standards and best practices in areas include corporate governance, compliance and risk management, operating with highest levels of integrity, transparency and trust.