Pakistan Ready to Receive PayPal with Open Arms

Pakistan is one of the countries where PayPal (PYPL) still doesn’t have a presence. But that could soon change. The Pakistani government is making efforts to have PayPal launch operations in the country, according to local media reports. It turns out Pakistan is missing out significantly because of its lack of digital payment services, according to The Express Tribune. This disadvantage could cause the Pakistani government to speed up regulatory reforms.

eBay (EBAY) CEO Devin Wenig also spoke positively about e-commerce prospects in emerging markets when he addressed the World Economic Forum last month. Neither eBay or Amazon (AMZN) have a local presence in Pakistan.

Pakistan is one of the emerging Asian economies on the radar of many large technology companies seeking to expand their global reach. Last year, Alibaba (BABA) bought Pakistan-based e-commerce company Daraz, and its payment affiliate, Ant Financial, has interests in the Pakistani digital payment industry. Ant Financial provides services that compete with PayPal. Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL) are some of the American Internet giants offering services in Pakistan. The Pakistani government is reportedly urging Facebook to open an office in the country to maximize its opportunities there. PayPal generated $4.2 billion in revenue worldwide in the fourth quarter.