Afghanistan International Bank, owned by a consortium of Afghan and US investors and managed by ING?s Institutional and Government Advisory group (ING-IGA), has opened for business in Kabul.
The bank will start by providing inward and outward remittance facilities, cashier services, and current accounts for Afghan customers. It wants to move into trade finance and short-term and medium-term corporate loans in the coming months.
?We will provide for the financing needs of overseas-based Afghan nationals, as they look to repatriate money from around the world,? says John Haye, Afghanistan International Bank?s CEO.
Haye was previously an adviser with ING-IGA to Chang Hwa Bank in Taipei.
Investors in Afghanistan International Bank include the Afghan Investment Partners Corporation, established by shareholders in Afghanistan Reconstruction Company (ARC). ARC is an investment and construction company founded by Afghans in the US, the Middle East, and Europe. It is involved in the Kabul-Kandahar road project and Kabul?s Hyatt Hotel.
Others investors are Crest Holdings, an investment company owned by commodities trader the Mohib Group, and Wilton Holdings. Wilton Holdings is part of the Rahmat Group, which has textiles and fruit businesses in Pakistan and Afghanistan.