Pakistan has potential to revolutionize its online business with Chinese assistance

ISLAMABAD        –        Pakistan can bring a revolution in online business with the help of Chinese companies already working in the country. “Ten legal fintech companies are working in Pakistan. Four of them are Chinese companies,” Dr Tahir Mumtaz Awan, head of the China Study Centre (CSC) at Comsats University, told WealthPK. He said that three Chinese companies including Seed Creed Financial Services, Micro Creed Financial Services Limited and Hammra Financial Services Limited are active in the country.

“I am sure that many people may not know about these Chinese fintech companies which are already operating in Pakistan,” said Dr Tahir. He added that those companies could also connect the Pakistani fintech industry with WeChat and Alipay. He said that WeChat has already revolutionised online business in China. Users can buy and sell their daily items online through WeChat.

The second option is Alipay but it is for the international community. Transfers through WeChat are preferred in daily life. “Whenever I go to China I never take cash or carry a card with me. However, I always carry a power bank with me because I have to keep my phone charged and all the money is being transferred through the phone. WeChat is one of the strong financial systems,” said Dr Tahir.

He said that Chinese fintech companies are already working with Pakistan. “It is just needed to synchronise these brands with the fintech industry of Pakistan and the state-run financial institutions,” he added. He said that any Pakistani fintech company such as UBL Omni, Jazz Cash and EasyPaisa etc could be developed on the pattern of WeChat. “Currently, local fintech companies are moving in the opposite direction of international fintech firms. We need to coordinate and make it a unique and common platform, which is accessible to everyone.

The Federal Board of Revenue is striving to strengthen the fintech industry,” he said. Dr Tahir said that Pakistan has a good 4G system and it is also moving towards 5G. “We need to make our network capable of new technology. It would be a need analysis,” he added. He said that human resources should be developed in Pakistan. Pakistani youths could be sent to China for training. Likewise, Chinese trainers could be also invited to Pakistan to train people, he added.

“This is high time to improve the skills of people. People have already the latest mobile phones, local machines and latest equipment so they just need to improve their skills,” said Dr Tahir. According to the data provided by WeChat management to WealthPK, the monthly deals of the firm reached 1.309 billion, registering an increase of 3.7%. In 2015, WeChat Pay began to develop cross-border business. In January 2022, the WeChat Open Class disclosed to the media that mini-programmes of the company were growing rapidly in overseas business, with the number of monthly deals increasing by 268%, and the monthly average number of daily transactions increasing by 897%. WeChat Pay is currently available in 68 countries and supports payments in 26 currencies around the world, according to the data available with WealthPK.