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Tag: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  • Numbeo’s Pakistan Index stuns Karachi Chamber

    Numbeo’s Pakistan Index stuns Karachi Chamber

    Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) is stunned over the Numbeo’s cost of living index in which it has been claimed that Pakistan was the cheapest country amongst 139 countries of the world.

    KCCI President Muhammad Idrees while referring to Finance Minister’s tweet about latest Numbeo’s cost of living index in which it has been claimed that Pakistan was the cheapest country amongst 139 countries of the world, stated that this ranking cannot be taken into consideration as it was mainly based on low rent and groceries index whereas the other major components like low per capita income, rate of inflation, poverty and unemployment etc. have not been taken into consideration in finalizing the ranking, hence the claim about Pakistan being the cheapest country was unfounded and contrary to ground realities.

    READ MORE: PM appealed restoring gas to Karachi industrial zones

    “The entire population of Pakistan suffers badly due to across-the-board inflation which has mainly been triggered by high cost of utilities and the constant rise petroleum prices affecting prices of all the household commodities, adding more miseries to the lives of the poor masses,” he said.

    He pointed out that the World Bank estimated that the poverty ratio in Pakistan stood at 39.3 percent in 2020-21 using the lower-middle-income poverty rate of $3.2 per day income while 40 percent of households suffered from moderate to severe food insecurity.

    He noted that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in the country has consistently been on a steep rise as during seven months of FY22, inflation was recorded at a whopping 10.26 percent as compared to 8.19 percent during the same period of FY21.

    READ MORE: KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window

    He further mentioned that the government recently raised up to Rs12.03 per liter in the prices of petroleum products, taking petrol to a record level of Rs159.86 per liter effective from February 16 and it was really worrisome that they plan to increase petroleum prices further by Rs6 per liter which was going to create a really troublesome situation not only for the masses and the businesses but also the already ailing economy.

    “Moreover, a significant increase in the prices of power tariffs is also on the card. Power tariff is likely to increase by Rs6.10 per unit on account of fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for the month of January this year. According to NEPRA, the cost of fuel for electricity generation in Jan’22 increased by 101.5 percent to Rs12.22 per unit on a year-on-year basis. The rising prices of utilities will have a ripple effect on all products and will further heat up inflation”, he warned, adding that it would further erode the purchasing power of the masses.

    Muhammad Idrees was of the opinion that the major impact on inflation comes from imports which are susceptible to Pak Rupee devaluation. The Pakistani rupee lost over 10 percent or around Rs16.68 of its total value during 2021 with the currency really taking the brunt during the second half of the year. On 31st December 2021, the currency was traded at Rs176.51 compared to Rs159.97 in the beginning of the year. It even hit a low of Rs181.80 on 16th December 2021. Therefore, the exchange rate should be kept stable to minimize the impact of rising inflation, he stressed.

    READ MORE: KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar

    President KCCI further stated that during first seven months of FY22, exports were recorded at $17.67 billion, while imports were recorded at $46.47 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $28.8 billion. “Pakistan’s major dependence on imported goods and its inability to diversify export commodities and markets remain major challenges for the country’s economy eating away valuable reserves,” he added.

    President KCCI underscored that instead of further overburdening the masses, the government has to come up with an effective strategy to minimize the impact of inflation by subsidizing the rising POL prices, promote import substitution to shrink trade deficit, bring down the cost of doing business by reducing prices of utilities, taxes and duties so that the poor masses could survive and the businesses could also stay afloat.

    READ MORE: KCCI flays restoration of IR officers bank freezing powers

    He hoped that the present government must take the ground realities into consideration and take steps to minimize the hardships being suffered by the already overburdened masses and the businesses who simply cannot afford any further shocks in terms of rising cost of doing business.

  • POS retailers to get refunds automatically: Tariq Mustafa

    POS retailers to get refunds automatically: Tariq Mustafa

    KARACHI: Tariq Mustafa Khan, Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, Regional Tax Office (RTO) Karachi has said that retailers who installed Point of Sales (POS) will gain refunds automatically.

    “The retailers will also not subject to audit,” he said while speaking with office bearers of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Thursday.

    “POS, which was currently for business falling under Tier-I, will gradually be installed all over the country with a view to save the economy from tax evasion”, he added.

    READ MORE: All shopkeepers to install POS machines: CTO Chief

    President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain, Chairman of Special Committee for Small Traders Majeed Memon, Chairman GST/ SRB Subcommittee Shoaib Ahmed Faridi, Chairman Federal Taxation Subcommittee Hilal Ahmed Sheikh, KCCI Managing Committee Members and others were also present at the meeting.

    Chief Commissioner RTO explained that any shopkeeper who comes under the purview of seven conditions defined for Tier-I will have to fulfil the POS condition.

    “Shopkeepers must come out of fear as they will be fully protected in case of any illegal action. Our doors are always open and you can visit my office anytime for assistance without seeking appointment,” he assured and advised shopkeepers to submit written complaints in case they were being victimized, ill-treated or blackmailed by any officer of his department. Action will be taken by initiating investigation within 24 hours with a view to create a taxpayers’ friendly environment.

    READ MORE: FBR posts officials at retail outlets for sales monitoring

    “Whoever has received notices pertaining to POS, his business must be falling in any of the seven categories defined in Tier-I. We don’t want to close down your business. This system is purely for the benefit of businesspeople hence, maximum number of people must become part it,” he said.

    Appreciating President KCCI’s suggestion, he agreed that his department’s team will hold awareness sessions not only at KCCI but also at respective markets. “It is not only the responsibility of Muhammad Idrees to support and facilitate shopkeepers but ours as well,” he added.

    Tariq Mustafa Khan, while congratulating KCCI Office Bearers on assuming charge of Chamber’s affairs appreciated all the efforts being made to highlight the problems pertaining to POS and other taxation issues.

    READ MORE: Point of sale machines allowed tax credit

    Speaking on the occasion, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees stated that to properly and effectively implement POS system on Tier-I Retailers without troubling the shopkeepers, the field formation teams need to play a more proactive role while awareness has to be raised amongst shopkeepers who currently stand unguided and were reluctant to seek assistance mainly due to existing negative perception about tax authorities. “The past practices of field formation officers are discouraging shopkeepers to integrate with FBR via POS which requires attention”, he added.

    He also pointed out that Gul Plaza was not an airconditioned mall but due to inevitable requirement at the basement, some shopkeepers have installed air conditioners and similar was the case at some other malls as well hence, all such shops should not be held responsible for failing to comply with POS condition as these cannot be treated under Tier-I.

    Muhammad Idrees further argued that all laws being devised by FBR including POS system remain confined to business community of Karachi only at initial phase whereas it appears that the rest of the country stands exempted.

    READ MORE: CTO Karachi seals three retail shops on POS failure

    He advised Chief Commissioner to hold awareness sessions at KCCI for shopkeepers of markets and malls and these sessions must also be organized at relevant markets as well so that misunderstandings and grievances could be dealt as people were largely unaware to such an extent that they were even not aware that shopkeepers can also get rebate under POS.

    He said that taxpayers were being harassed by issuing notices for monitoring and audit of multiple tax years and were compelled to comply to these notices within a short period of merely 4 to 5 days. In this regard, he proposed that field formations should be restricted from initiating proceedings of multiple years while adequate time period has to be prescribed under the law which should be provided to taxpayers for responding to a particular notice.

    He sought Chief Commissioner’s support in improving the business climate, rationalizing taxation and reducing cost of doing business so that the country could be brought to the level of realizing its true economic potential.

  • Industry protests against gas shortage at SSGC

    Industry protests against gas shortage at SSGC

    KARACHI: Hundreds of demonstrators on Wednesday gathered outside the head office of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to demand immediate restoration of gas supply to industry.

    The demonstrators included the leadership of Businessmen Group and Karachi Chamber along with Presidents/ Representatives of All Industrial Town Associations and sector-specific trade associations.

    They warned that this campaign to demand immediate restoration of gas supply at all the industrial zones would continue and may intensify further with each passing day until gas supply to all the industrial units is fully restored and normalized.

    READ MORE: PM appealed restoring gas to Karachi industrial zones

    Accompanied by prominent business figures, Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani and President KCCI Muhammad Idrees expressed deep concerns over government’s inattentive attitude towards resolving the most pressing issue being suffered by the business and industrial community of Karachi where the industrialists were suffering huge losses due to no gas or low pressure.

    The industrialists of Karachi were totally stunned and disappointed to see government’s sheer negligence in response to press releases, appeals and also a recent press conference over looming gas/ RLNG crises being suffered since last more than 100 days.

    READ MORE: KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window

    They said that losses of up to Rs45 billion were being suffered each day due to unavailability of gas to Karachi, which despite facing so many challenges at almost all the fronts, continues to contribute more than 68 percent revenue to the national exchequer, 54 percent to national exports while 52 percent of textile exports also take place from Karachi.

    While referring to erroneous allocation of 211 mmcfd gas from Sindh’s resources to SNGPL, BMG and KCCI Leadership demanded that in order to revive the industrial activities in Karachi, Sindh’s gas has to be returned to the province as it was highly unfair to keep the industries of Karachi deprived of Sindh’s own gas resources.

    They said that the rising demand for gas in Baluchistan during winter season was being fulfilled by SSGCL alone which receives 125mmcfd gas from Sui whereas SNGPL, which takes away 180mmcfd from Sui, stands completely spared from sharing the burden of rising gas demand in Baluchistan which was beyond anyone’s understanding.

    READ MORE: KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar

    They stressed that the rising demand for gas in Baluchistan has to be meted out by SSGCL and SNGPL as per ratio of gas being received by them which means that the extra demand of 160mmcfd in Baluchistan during winter should be rationally divided with 41 percent (65mmcfd) burden on SSGCL and the remaining 59 percent (95mmcfd) must be borne by SNGPL.

    They were of the opinion that gas has to be supplied without any differentiation to all the industries including General, SMEs and export-oriented industries as they all go hand-in-hand. The government has to realize that the general industries were an integral part of the value chain for exports which drive the economy.

    READ MORE: KCCI flays restoration of IR officers bank freezing powers

    In the national interest, BMG and KCCI Leadership appealed Prime Minister Imran Khan to take immediate cognizance of the situation and urgently respond to the Constitutional Right of the business community of Karachi to save the investment of industrialists and protect the soft and positive image of Pakistan globally, otherwise, if such alarming situation prevails, the country may face unrest and uncertainty due to closure of industries in Karachi, massive layoffs and drastic decline in the national exchequer further leading to chaos.

  • PM appealed restoring gas to Karachi industrial zones

    PM appealed restoring gas to Karachi industrial zones

    KARACHI: The business leaders of industrial zones of Karachi have appealed Prime Minister Imran Khan to restore gas supply to all industries.

    While fervently appealing Prime Minister Imran Khan and his aides to immediately restore gas supply to all industrial zones of Karachi whose gas supply remains suspended since last more than 100 days, Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairman BMG & Chairman Pakistan Apparel Forum Jawed Bilwani and President Karachi Chamber Muhammad Idrees have stressed that the federal government must save its repute by putting an end to the discriminatory treatment being suffered by this city since long which has not only aggravated miseries for the business community and the Karachiites but has also dented the government’s efforts to ensure ease of doing business.

    READ MORE: KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window

    Addressing a presser at Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) on Monday, Business Leaders urged that in order to revive the industrial activities, Sindh’s gas has to be returned to the province as it was highly unfair to keep the industries of Karachi deprived of Sindh’s own gas resources. They said that the industries of Karachi were deeply shocked and totally disappointed with the Government for neglecting and ignoring the repeated appeals and press releases over looming gas/ RLNG crises and remains indecisive in the burning matter for the last more than 100 days.

    General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain along with President Site Association of Industry Abdul Rasheed, President Federal B. Area of Trade & Industry Haroon Shamsi, President Korangi Association of Trade & Industry Salman Aslam, Representative of Landhi Association of Trade & Industry Ajmal Afzal, President North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry Faisal Moiz, President Bin Qasim Association of Trade & Industry Elahi Buksh and President Site Superhighway Association of Industry Aamir Hassan Lari attended the presser. From Value-Added Textile Associations, Zonal Chairman Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) Abdul Rehman, Chairman Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) Sheikh Shafiq Jhok Wala, Chairman Pakistan Knitwear & Sweaters Manufacturers & Exporters Association Kamran Chandna, Chairman Pakistan Cotton Fashion Apparel Manufacturers & Exporters Association Aitazaz Ahmed Japanwala,  Chairman Towel Manufacturers Association Kashif Mehtab Chawla, Chairman Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association Asif Javed & Chairman Pakistan Denim Manufacturer & Exporters Association Asif Riaz Tata also participated.

    READ MORE: KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar

    Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala said that the Government’s promises and commitments to assure supply of gas to export industries appear to be an eyewash and a mere lip-service. It was highly unfair to deprive Karachi from Gas/ RLNG as this city, being the textile and industrial hub of Pakistan, alone contributes 68 percent revenue to the national exchequer and 54 percent to national exports while 52 percent of textile exports also take place from Karachi.

    “Yet this matchless contribution is not being taken into consideration and Karachi continues to undergo discrimination that has led to causing severe production losses of more than 66 percent due to reduced or no supply of gas. The inequitable conduct and discriminatory treatment with Karachi were totally unconstitutional hence intolerable and highly deplorable”, he said while fearing that the discriminatory actions/ policy towards Karachi will not only cause the industry to cripple but would also tarnish the vision of Prime Minister.

    Chairman BMG further stated that the rising demand for gas in Baluchistan during winter season was being fulfilled by SSGCL alone which receives 125mmcfd gas from Sui whereas SNGPL, which takes away 180mmcfd from Sui, stands completely spared from sharing the burden of rising gas demand in Baluchistan which was beyond anyone’s understanding. “We firmly believe that the rising demand for gas in Baluchistan has to be meted out by SSGCL and SNGPL as per ratio of gas being received by them which means that the extra demand of 160mmcfd in Baluchistan during winter should be rationally divided with 41 percent (65mmcfd) burden on SSGCL and the remaining 59 percent (95mmcfd) must be borne by SNGPL.”  

    READ MORE: KCCI flays restoration of IR officers bank freezing powers

    Zubair Motiwala stressed that a quantum of 211mmcfd gas, which was erroneously allocated to SNGPL in the past and the same has also been recognized by SAPM Gas and DG Gas, needs to be immediately returned to SSGCL. “Last year, the industry of Karachi entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Ministry Commerce to purchase extra quantum of gas at higher price for a period of five months to match the demand. However, we were denied of the same this year due to lack of planning.”

    Chairman Pakistan Apparel Forum Jawed Bilwani mentioned that Prime Minister’s excellent policy pertaining to Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) encouraged industrialists to invest more than US$3 billion on purchase of machineries/ equipment which was likely to promote industrialization but this policy will be wasted due to unavailability and unjustified distribution of gas.

    READ MORE: KCCI expresses grief over human loss in earthquake

    Bilwani said that the Value-Added Textile Export Industries were saddened over such unwelcoming act and behavior of the Federal Government. Surprisingly, Government is well aware that the downfall in exports will also result into downward revision in the national revenue and will also negatively impact the foreign exchange coming to Pakistan where the national exports will ultimately face sharp decline, nevertheless, no response and continuous silence of the Government is not understood?

    He said that repeated appeals in the print media without any response from the Government has also tarnished the soft and positive image of Pakistan in the eyes of international community around the globe and has also raised several questions in the Diplomatic Missions of friendly countries in Pakistan whereby the Ambassadors and diplomats in Islamabad and Karachi have been continuously observing the situation and they may send their advisories to the buyers of their countries which may result to disruption or discontinuation of existing and new export orders.

    Addressing the presser, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees opined that instead of pursuing the pick & choose strategy, gas has to be supplied without any differentiation to all the industries including General, SMEs and export-oriented industries as they all go hand-in-hand. The government has to realize that the general industries were an integral part of the value chain for exports which drive the economy.

    He was of the view that neglect and disregard of repeated appeals of the industries of Karachi has also depicted a dark picture of Pakistan in the eyes of international community as the sitting Government which claims to be business and export friendly, has thus far not yet showed any concern towards the industrial slowdown and shattered export production in Karachi.

    BMG and KCCI Leadership along with Presidents of all other Trade Associations informed that the industries of Karachi were also being victimized and denied of other alternate fuels like Furnace Oil as the Department of Explosives, Petroleum Division was also not granting the required license to export industries which they applied for around two months ago. Production of export industries has come to a complete halt as they have no other alternate energy or power connection/ source.

    They said that empty Containers and Vessels to dispatch export shipments to various destinations worldwide were also not easily available due to ill-planning of the Government as the empty containers have been exported, reportedly, throughout last year, in huge quantities and mother vessels were also not coming to Pakistan. Such neglect on part of the Government was highly deplorable and the valuable struggle and hard efforts of exporters, encompassing over decades, to enhance exports will end in smokes and their new investments for further industrialization will be sabotaged, they added and asked, why should the industries of Karachi suffer on the cost of maladministration and nasty planning of non-serious elements in the Government who were responsible for the ongoing gas crises.

    The Industrialists also deplored the misleading contents of appeal of APTMA North Zone published on January 29 wherein the Spinners’ Association has attempted to misinform the Government mentioning that the industries in Sindh were getting required pressure to operate in contravention to the appeals given by APTMA South Zone.

    In the national interest, Zubair Motiwala, Jawed Bilwani, Muhammad Idrees and all Presidents of Trade Associations appealed Prime Minister Imran Khan to take immediate cognizance of the situation and urgently respond to the Constitutional Right of the business community of Karachi to save the investment of industrialists and protect the soft and positive image of Pakistan globally, otherwise, if such alarming situation prevails, the country may face unrest and uncertainty due to closure of industries in Karachi, massive layoffs and drastic decline in the national exchequer further leading to chaos.

  • KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window

    KCCI holds awareness seminar on Pakistan Single Window

    The Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) organized an awareness session on Pakistan Single Window (PSW).

    The seminar was aimed to raise technical awareness about the overall operations of this important facility and provide an opportunity to the participants of the session to better understand the system, highlight issues and get adequate response along with first-hand information from the relevant officers of Pakistan Customs.

    READ MORE: PSW to link 27 banks for trade facilitation

    The session, which was steered by Chief Domain Officer/ Additional Collector Customs Naveed Abbas Memon and simultaneously conducted through online zoom facility, was attended by President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain, Chairman Customs & Valuations Subcommittee Muhammad Arif Lakhani, Former Senior Vice President Muhammad Ibrahim Kasumbi, Former Vice President Nasir Mehmood, KCCI Managing Committee and General Body Members in addition to immense participation of more than 250 people from all over the country including Sialkot, Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad who joined the meeting via zoom facility.

    Speaking on the occasion, Chief Domain Officer Naveed Abbas Memon stated that Pakistan Single Window portal has been designed to fully facilitate traders by reducing time, cost and complexity in cross border trade in addition to improving the quality of experience for all stakeholders with primary focus on ease of doing business. He said that it also supports other government departments in adopting an Integrated Risk Management (IRM) approach for efficient enforcement of trade related controls.

    READ MORE: PSW to reduce trade cost, time, and complications: Tarin

    Earlier, while welcoming the participants of awareness session, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees appreciated the PSW initiative introduced by the government which would certainly help in minimizing human interaction and reduce chances of harassment and corruption. However, he stressed that the need to promptly rectify numerous glitches in the system and simplify procedures in order to achieve the prime objective of PSW facility which was to ensure ease of doing business.

    He said that it was heartening to see that PSW promotes ease of doing business by maintaining collaboration with 74 different public sector entities involved in regulation of cross border trade of Pakistan and digitalizing the processes related to importers, exporters, customs house agents, freight forwarders, shipping companies and transporters etc. but there was a room for further improving the system so that it could be brought at par with international standards.

    He was of the view that fully functional and totally flawless operations of PSW would also enable Pakistan to achieve compliance with WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement besides helping Pakistan to unlock its potential in becoming a hub for trade.

    READ MORE: Biometric verification for PSW inaugurated at KCAA

    He mentioned that Karachi Chamber has the honor of being the first Chamber of the country to NADRA e-Sahulat at KCCI premises where members of the business and industrial community were being provided biometric verification facility required for registration in the PSW portal. “PSW or any other IT-enabled service to be introduced in future must be devised in such a manner that these facilitate business community rather than becoming a source for exploitation”, he stressed, adding that FBR must work in close coordination with KCCI to make PSW and other such future initiatives successful.

    While appreciating the support and cooperation extended by Pakistan Customs, particularly the seriousness being exhibited towards ensuring ease of doing business, President KCCI opined that the success of PSW initiative would not only prove beneficial for businesses but also for the economy.

    Many participants of the meeting expressed deep concerns over some non-functional tabs in PSW portal and also the delays in biometric verification for registration which was causing demurrage detention losses. In response, on the spot instructions were issued to resolve several glitches so that the business community could use this portal without any problem.

    READ MORE: SBP to eliminate electronic import form for PSW

  • Business community demands revisiting mini-budget

    Business community demands revisiting mini-budget

    The business community in Pakistan has vehemently rejected the recent approval of the mini-budget by the government and is urging a reevaluation of the Finance Supplementary Bill 2021-22, which was endorsed by the National Assembly just a day earlier.

    (more…)
  • Oman keen to improve trade ties with Pakistan

    Oman keen to improve trade ties with Pakistan

    KARACHI: Business communities of Pakistan and Oman should work together to improve trade and investment relations.

    This was stated by Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OCCI), Redha Jumma Mohamed Ali Al-Saleh, who led a 20-member delegation during visit to Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

    “Oman and Pakistan have been enjoying very good relations and both countries have many things in common but the trade volume was not sufficient which needs to be focused as before COVID-19 pandemic, trade volume stood at $655 million but it came down to $250 million,” said Chairman OCCI.

    READ MORE: KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar

    Vice Consul General of Consulate General of Oman in Karachi Hamood Nasser Al Nahdi, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Oman K.K. Ahsan, Chairman Businessmen Group Muhammad Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairman BMG Tahir Khaliq, Senior Vice President KCCI Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain and KCCI Managing Committee Members were also present at the meeting.

    Chairman OCCI further stated that the visit Omani delegation, which has arrived after a very long time, would certainly help in improving the existing trade and business ties between the two countries.

    “Under the vision 2040, Oman is working on five sectors including mining, logistics, tourism, food security and industrial growth. As Pakistan is also focused on all these sectors hence, we can work together,” he added.

    READ MORE: KCCI flays restoration of IR officers bank freezing powers

    He informed that Oman was open for foreign investment as under the new rules, investors can now invest 100 percent capital with no need for having a local partner but it was better to have a local partner who could help in easily setting up businesses in Oman. “As compared to other countries, taxes in Oman were much lower with tax holidays for up to five years. Oman has also opened a road to Saudi Arabia which has substantially reduced the distance, cost and time hence, Oman can become a hub for export to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and GCC countries.”

    Chairman OCCI informed that Oman has free zones where no tax was applicable on production for exports while incentives were also being offered to new investors who can start businesses in a stable economic, social and political environment with availability of advanced infrastructure facilities and other benefits including tax exemptions on equipment for establishing industrial projects.

    He admitted that obtaining Omani visa was not an easy task but the Omani Embassy in Pakistan along with OCCI was working seriously towards making it easier. “We are ready to assist any Pakistani businessman in obtaining visa with a view to make your visit easier.”

    READ MORE: KCCI demands COVID restrictions ease for businesses

    He was of the opinion that Karachi Chamber was the right platform for Omani investors to seek advice before undertaking joint ventures with Pakistani companies and same was the case for Pakistani investors who can approach Oman Chamber before partnering with any Omani company.

    Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, in his remarks, stated that Pakistan and Oman have been enjoying friendly relations and excellent bonding since Pakistan came of existence and it was heartening to see that Pakistani manpower has been comfortably working in Oman. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, during his 40 years of rule, has done a marvelous job by transforming a desert to one of the most modern countries of the world.

    “The new ruler of Oman Haitham bin Tariq is also doing an excellent job by bringing positive changes which means that the progress of Oman would continue in the times to come”, he added.

    He said that although government-to-government relations exist but people-to-people relations were also very important which have to be not only maintained but further improved.

    “Pakistan’s exports to the world have been rising by 20 percent every month due to conducive investment policies and business friendly environment, hence the Omani investors must look into the possibility of setting up businesses or undertaking joint ventures in Pakistan.”

    Zubair Motiwala, while referring to meager trade volume of around $650 million between Pakistan and Oman, stressed that both countries have to look into the issues and identify the bottlenecks which have been hindering trade and collective efforts have to be made to take the current trade volume to at least $1 billion.

    READ MORE: KCCI opposes lockdown, suggests forceful vaccination, strict implementation of SOPs

    “Trust deficit is one of the major issue that needs to be addressed as obtaining business visa for exploring trade and investment opportunities in Oman is hard to get which has to be simplified while exchange of trade delegations must also frequently take place along with single country exhibitions in Karachi and Muscat which would certainly prove more effective for promoting trade and investment,” he said, adding that the biggest booster for trade is regional cooperation and regional connectivity instead of international trade. “We have to supplement and complement each other by sharing the expertise and undertaking joint ventures.” 

    Senior Vice President KCCI Abdul Rehman Naqi, while warmly welcoming the Omani delegation, pointed out that Pakistan exported US$149.22 million worth of goods to Oman in 2020 while the imports from Oman stood at US$614.81 million. “There are a number of commodities in which the two countries can enhance trade like the semi-milled or wholly milled rice, tents of textile materials, fresh or dried guavas, mangoes, onions and shallots, fresh or chilled potatoes etc.

    He also stressed the need for setting up Oman-Pakistan Joint Business Council to enhance trade cooperation and economic relations between the two friendly countries. “Moreover, Special Economic Zones being setup under CPEC provide an ideal opportunity for Omani investors to consider Pakistan for investments and joint ventures, particularly in the food sector. Oman can enhance economic cooperation with Pakistan by virtue of investments as vast prospects of investment lie in industry, livestock, energy, agriculture and information technology.

    Pakistan and Oman should cooperate in the field of Blue Economy including enhancing tourism through frequent ferry service given their close proximity, he said, adding that Pakistan can tremendously benefit from Oman’s technological advancement in the oil sector.

  • USAID conducts training session on Amazon readiness

    USAID conducts training session on Amazon readiness

    KARACHI: The USAID – Small and Medium Enterprises Activity (SMEA) has conducted a full day trading session on Amazon readiness and selling for members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), a statement said on Thursday.

    Speaking on the occasion, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees appreciated the Ministry of Commerce for its strenuous efforts that led to inclusion of Pakistan in the Amazon sellers’ list. It is undoubtedly a great milestone which would surely promote e-Commerce all over Pakistan.

    READ MORE: Business community welcomes Pakistan’s inclusion in Amazon list

    He also appreciated the USAID – Small and Medium Enterprises Activity (SMEA) for conducting the Training session on Amazon for KCCI members which was aimed at educating the Pakistani exporters on how to benefit from the e-commerce being offered by Amazon.

    He was of the view that in order to make the most of Amazon opportunity, a lot of hard work was required in training, quality assurance, improvement in logistics, payment systems and customer relationship management etc.

    READ MORE: Commerce ministry issues guidelines for joining Amazon

    “To reap full benefits, all the stakeholders have to work together in order to drive the Pakistani E-Commerce sector forward and ensure sustained progress and prosperity for Pakistan”, he added.

    The training session on Amazon readiness and selling which was attended by prominent members of the business community along with President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President KCCI Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President KCCI Qazi Zahid Hussain, Deputy Chairman Exports Subcommittee Iqbal Khamisani and KCCI Managing Committee Members.

    Khurram Shahzad and Asad Kamran, who were representing USAID – Small Medium Enterprise Activity (SMEA), carried out the daylong training session which was followed by a detailed Q&A session.

    READ MORE: FPCCI organizes seminar for using Amazon platform

  • Early detection only prevention for breast cancer

    Early detection only prevention for breast cancer

    KARACHI: The First Lady of Pakistan Samina Arif Alvi has stressed that early detection is the only prevention for dealing with the life-threatening disease of breast cancer as 98 percent of the women survive when they are diagnosed with breast cancer earlier but unfortunately, majority of the breast cancer patients in Pakistan are diagnosed belatedly when cancer reaches third stage, resulting in a death rate in between 40 to 45 percent.

    Speaking at a seminar organized at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) on Women Empowerment & Breast Cancer on Saturday, Samina Arif Alvi added that keeping in view the limited number of mammogram facilities available in the country, it was better for women to carry out self-examination for five minutes and if they feel anything unusual or any symptom or any change, they must immediately seek medical assistance.

    Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairman BMG Anjum Nisar, General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Chairperson of KCCI’s Women Entrepreneurs Subcommittee Durre Shahwar Nisar, President Pink Ribbon Trust Dr. Zubaida Qazi, Associate Professor IBA Huma Baqai, KCCI Managing Committee Members and a large number of women entrepreneurs attended the seminar.

    First Lady Samina Alvi, while appreciating KCCI’s efforts to raise awareness about breast cancer, stated that it was very important that the business community of Chamber of Commerce, which plays the role of a backbone in the economy, comes forward to raise awareness about this disease being suffered by many women. “We need to sensitize our brothers, husbands and sons about this serious disease so that women should feel strong and boldly come forward for checkups. We have to ensure that women are empowered and encouraged to come out in every field as women are no less than anyone and they are capable of carrying out all types of tasks if they are strong and healthier.”

    She also stressed the need for collective efforts by all segments of society, particularly the business community and media which can play an instrumental role in raising awareness about breast cancer and women empowerment. The awareness campaigns should not remain confined to the month of October only but it should be an ongoing exercise and the media must televise awareness program at least once a month, she added.

    Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, in his remarks, said, “Today is an important day which would open a new chapter in the history of KCCI as for the very first time, KCCI has staged a seminar on breast cancer which was not given importance in the past.”

    Referring to Dr. Zubaida Qazi’s remarks, he said that it was really alarming to see that breast cancer cases have gone up to 23.8 percent which were likely to rise further to 60 percent in few years if not promptly addressed. The government must prioritize this serious issue and an effective strategy has to be devised so that the breast cancer cases could be controlled and gradually brought down instead of upsurging.

    He was of the view that the government must make screening and check-ups for breast cancer mandatory for every woman who reaches the age of 40 years which would certainly result in early diagnosis of this life-threatening disease and save many precious lives. “The strategy pursued to get the population vaccinated for COVID-19 pandemic proved very fruitful. Hence, a similar strategy must also be adopted for dealing with breast cancer by taking penal actions, imposing travel restrictions and barring women to avail other essential services on their failure to get the screening done for breast cancer”, he suggested, adding that it was also the responsibility of every male individual to ensure that his wife, sister or daughter have been screened.

    While commending the efforts being made by First Lady, Zubair Motiwala extended Karachi Chamber’s full support and cooperation to all the initiatives being taken by the government for women empowerment and rights. “Empowerment comes when women get education and skills, hence it has to be ensured that women have access to education otherwise, the problems being suffered by our women would never minimize”, he added.

    Vice Chairman BMG Anjum Nisar, while underscoring the need to change perception and mentally about women, said, “Unfortunately, we live in a society where it is widely believed that women will not be able to carry out several types of jobs which is untrue as women can do wonders if they are fully supported and empowered.”

    He was of the opinion that rural women must also be given equal attention in all the awareness campaigns about breast cancer while opportunities must be provided to differently abled women in public and private sector organizations.   

    General Secretary AQ Khalil, while praising the role being played by the first lady for the betterment of women, said that as women represent more than 50 percent of the population, they must be provided equal opportunities and all their problems must also be treated equally. Moreover, the reserved seats at the National and Provincial Assemblies for women must also be raised according to their population.

    President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, while warmly welcoming the First Lady, stated that the empowerment and autonomy of women and the improvement of their political, social, economic and health status was a highly important which would help in achieving sustainable development. “Education is also one of the most important means of empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to fully participate in the development process.”

    He was of the opinion that entrepreneurship was becoming an increasingly significant source of employment for women across many countries. Nowadays women perform an important role in building the real backbone of a nation’s economy. However, the number of Women entrepreneurs was quite less and they often face gender-based barriers to starting and growing their businesses which needs to be tackled, he said.

    “As a nation, I would like everyone to spread the awareness on Breast Cancer so that we could collectively fight for this noble cause”, Muhammad Idrees added while extending full support and cooperation to the government in all its endeavors to create a better society for women.

    KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar
  • Yarn merchants demand reduction in customs duty

    Yarn merchants demand reduction in customs duty

    KARACHI: Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) has demanded reduction in customs duty from 11 per cent to 7 per cent on import of yarn.

    Central Chairman of Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) Saqib Naseem has stressed that the existing custom duty of 11 percent on polyester yarn has to be brought down to 7 percent as done in the past when the previous governments provided this much-needed relief through Textile Packages that led to improving the overall productivity of textile manufacturers and also enhanced the exports.

    Although the government in this year’s budget announced to bring custom duty down to 9 percent but that stands unchanged at 11 percent. Similarly, the anti-dumping duty also needs to be abolished in the larger interest of textile sector otherwise the export targets will not be achieved due to likely cotton shortages and higher customs duties, he added while exchanging views at a meeting during the visit of PYMA delegation to Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI).

    General Secretary Businessmen Group AQ Khalil, President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi and the Members of KCCI and PYMA’s Managing Committees were also present at the meeting.

    Central Chairman PYMA pointed out that commercial importers of yarn act as a bank for thousands of small-sized textile industries who cannot afford to import huge quantities of yarn but obtain this essential raw material from commercial importers therefore, the importers should be provided relief by reducing the exorbitant duties and duties which have to be brought at par with industries.

    He was of the opinion that prices of polyester yarn have risen sharply due to rising oil prices, increase in freight charges and the global shortage of containers. As a result, the textile industry, small and medium enterprises, especially power looms, were suffering due to high costs therefore, custom duties and taxes have to be brought down drastically.

    Saqib Naseem further requested KCCI to help in convincing the government to bring down the turnover tax back to 0.1 percent as many people were finding it hard to continue their business with high turnover tax due to limited margin.

    He also said that KCCI and PYMA have been enjoying cordial relations and it was heartening to see that many PYMA members have also discharged their duties at KCCI’s Managing Committee from time to time. “All PYMA members will go hand-in-hand with KCCI so that we could collectively work towards not only resolving PYMA issues but also other general issues of the business & industrial community”, he added.

    President KCCI Muhammad Idrees stated that the Karachi Chamber gives highest preference to all the issues being faced by PYMA members which were constantly being taken up with relevant ministers, advisors and all the authorities at the federal level. He said that although Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin always agrees to treat commercial importers of yarn and industries equally but the issue of higher duties on commercial importers stands unresolved as probably the bureaucracy was misguiding the minister. This pending issue has to be resolved and the commercial importers have to be provided relief by ensuring availability of a level playing field.

    PYMA delegation members also paid glowing tribute to Late Siraj Kassam Teli who always gave special attention and maintained good liaison with PYMA.

    KCCI urges SBP to restore PKR at Rs150 to dollar