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Tag: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry

  • Karachi Chamber flays detaining industrialists

    Karachi Chamber flays detaining industrialists

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has criticized arrest of industrialists especially textile mills owners for engagement in production activities during lockdown.

    Agha Shahab, President, KCCI, expressed concerns over the arrest/ detention of owner a textile mill, stated that it was not a wise move to arrest anyone or raid industries but any violation of government’s order should be brought to KCCI’s and relevant industrial zone association’s notice so that the same could be amicably resolved through negotiations.

    “The government should refrain from exacerbating their problems and finalize the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at the earliest so that the industries could accordingly adopt precautionary measures,” President KCCI added in a statement issued.

    While referring to Chief Minister Sindh’s recent meeting with representatives of the business and industrial community on April 4, 2020, President KCCI said that Chief Minister afterwards formed a committee which was tasked to outline the SOPs for industries but so far no response was received.

    He stressed that export oriented industries should be allowed to operate on a condition that they will ensure compliance of precautionary measures including social distancing, use of masks, gloves and sanitizers to disinfect the coronavirus.

    He hoped that the Sindh government would take serious notice of the situation and order the Committee to notify SOPs to industries at the earliest while the labor department should only be authorized to vigilantly supervise all the industrial activities.

    The government will have to act really fast in this regard with a view to save the industries as prolonged closure of the industrial units is going to be really detrimental and disastrous for the entire economy, he added.

  • Business community demands cut in tax rates to half for three months

    Business community demands cut in tax rates to half for three months

    KARACHI: Business community has demanded the government of reducing tax rates to half for at least three months in order to provide relief to industry and dilute impact of coronavirus.

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  • Business community welcomes PM relief package

    Business community welcomes PM relief package

    KARACHI: Business community has welcomed the relief package of around Rs1.2 trillion announced by Prime Minister Imran Khan to ward off the negative impact of coronavirus.

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  • Karachi Chamber announces shut down amid coronavirus spread

    Karachi Chamber announces shut down amid coronavirus spread

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has announced shut down its offices for a week due to outbreak of coronavirus and rising number of infected persons in Karachi.

    Keeping in view the outbreak of coronavirus and rising number of cases in Karachi, Chairman Businessmen Group Siraj Kassam Teli, Office Bearers and Managing Committee members of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) have decided to shut down KCCI for one week hence all departments of the Chamber will remain closed from March 24th to March 29th as a precautionary measure to save the public and staff from the life-threatening disease caused by coronavirus.

    KCCI will reopen on March 30th, 2020, Monday, with normal office timings, said a press release issued here on Saturday.

  • KCCI for more stringent measures to fight coronavirus epidemic

    KCCI for more stringent measures to fight coronavirus epidemic

    The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has called upon the government to implement stricter measures in the battle against the coronavirus epidemic. Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan, President of KCCI, emphasized the need for enhanced efforts to combat the threat posed by COVID-19, urging both the government and the public to remain vigilant and proactive in containing the spread of the virus.

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  • Dealers demand reviewing policy for used cars import

    Dealers demand reviewing policy for used cars import

    KARACHI: Car dealers have said that due to restrictions on import of used vehicles the business of car sales has suffered terribly and many showroom owners have shut down their businesses.

    Chairman of Automotive Traders & Importers Association Karachi (ATIAK) Muhammad Kamran Khan and President ATIAK Ch. Aamir Ali Khan have requested the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) to support the car dealers.

    They said that due to severe curbs imposed on the imports of used cars particularly the amendment in the Import Policy Order 2016 in which clearance of cars through foreign exchange has been made mandatory, the car sale business has suffered terribly and dozens of car dealers in various localities have shut down their businesses.

    They also sought help of the KCCI in getting their parking issue resolved as not a single vehicle belonging either to showroom owners or walk-in customers was being allowed to get parked outside any showroom which terribly affects their businesses.

    Chairman ATIAK Muhammad Kamran Khan pointed out that the situation has created a lot of problems not only for the car dealers but also for many other allied businesses including the denting and painting workshops and mechanics etc., rendering thousands of people jobless.

    Chairman ATIAK stated that the importers of used cars pay billions of rupees each other in shape of taxes and custom duties but the restrictions on imported cars have brought many businesses on the verge of complete collapse whereas the government was also losing billions of rupees being generated through custom duties and registration of imported vehicles.

    “The entire strategy needs to be reviewed and relief has to be provided hence, KCCI, being the premier trade body, must come forward to help out and save car dealers”, he added.

    Speaking at a meeting during the visit of ATIAK delegation to KCCI, Chairman and President ATIAK said that relocating showrooms outside Karachi was not a feasible option as not a single customer will come all the way out of city beyond Sohrab Goth to buy cars mainly due to security concerns hence, the relevant authorities will have to come up with some other feasible option in which relief has to be ensured for perturbed showroom owners.

    Earlier President KCCI Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan, while welcoming the ATIAK delegation, said that under Businessmen Group’s policy of Public Service, the Karachi Chamber has not only been serving the entire business & industrial community without any discrimination but also all other citizens of Karachi who have been facing hardships and climb the Chamber’s stairs to seek assistance.

    He assured the ATIAK delegation members of KCCI’s full support and cooperation so that numerous issues being faced by the car importers and dealers could be resolved as per aspiration of the stakeholders. “We are available for any kind of assistance 24/7 to the entire business and industrial community of Karachi without any discrimination of cast, creed, color or even size of the business”, he added.

    Referring to concerns by ATIAK delegates over parking issue, Agha Shahab Ahmed assured that DIG Traffic will be invited so that the parking issue being faced by car dealers could be particularly discussed and resolved.

    He was of the view that instead of imposing parking restrictions and creating other problems for showroom owners, the authorities should devise some kind of an effective strategy and come up with a permanent solution in consultation with all stakeholders as the car dealers also contribute billions of rupees every year to the national exchequer in shape of taxes and duties hence, they must get an enabling business environment in return.

    Speaking on the occasion, Chairman KCCI’s Special Committee for Small Traders Majeed Memon advised the ATIAK delegates to maintain close liaison with Karachi Chamber, become members of numerous subcommittees and participate in subcommittees’ meetings in order to actively highlight and bring issues to KCCI’s notice so that the same could timely be taken up with relevant authorities and amicably resolved.

  • Coronavirus threat: KCCI demands waiver of demurrage, detention charges on Chinese consignments

    Coronavirus threat: KCCI demands waiver of demurrage, detention charges on Chinese consignments

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has demanded the government authorities to waive demurrage and detention charges on Chinese consignments that are stopped due to threat of coronavirus.

    KCCI President Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan in a statement urged the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to come up with some kind of a ‘Special Policy’ to save the importers of various goods and commodities from suffering severe losses due to ban imposed on imports from China because of the outbreak of corona virus, COVID-19.

    He urged the relevant authority to issues notification in which the port authorities and all terminal operators must be advised to refrain from imposing demurrage and detention charges on those consignments which have already arrived at the Pakistani ports from China but were not being cleared.

    “Any demurrage or detention charges already applied on such consignments must immediately be waived off which would certainly be widely welcomed by the business community”, he added.

    He said that many importers, while seeking KCCI’s assistance, informed that their imported consignments from China have been put on hold at the ports in order to prevent the outbreak of deadly corona virus in Pakistan which has terribly affected capital of Hubei province, Wuhan and resulted in hundreds casualties so far besides spreading further in more than 20 countries.

    “Many import related documents have also not been received by relevant importers as no parcels were arriving from China and other affected countries, making it impossible for the importers to timely fulfill all the documentation formalities which are required for clearance of imported goods hence their consignments remain blocked at the ports and are resulting in additional demurrage and detention charges”, he said.

    “We fully understand the sensitivity of the issue and support the government’s moves to save Pakistan from the outbreak of the COVID-19 but the importers should not be penalized and relief has to be provided to the perturbed traders by waiving the demurrage and detention charges.”

    He said that out of a total bilateral trade of around US$12 billion between Pakistan and China, around US$6 billion has been transacted so far but the downfall in trade would certainly appear by the end of current fiscal year and US$12 billion mark will not be achieved due to complete suspension of trade between the two countries.

    “The outbreak of corona virus is an opportunity for the local industry as we have to look into the possibility of what we can produce on our own which was previously being imported from China prior to suspension of trade”, he added.

    He stressed that the lethal virus has been rapidly spreading in many countries around the world including some countries bordering Pakistan hence, the government will have to take stringent measures to save our country from the eruption of deadly virus.

    He hoped that the relevant departments would realize the gravity of the situation and relief will soon be provided to the importers as soon as possible by urging the port authorities not to demand any demurrage and detention charges from those importers whose goods were arriving from China which would certainly be welcomed.

  • Poisonous gas incident: KCCI criticizes NDMA

    Poisonous gas incident: KCCI criticizes NDMA

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday criticized the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for not responding to the tragic incident of poisonous gas leakage in Kemari area, which claimed six lives.

    Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan, President, KCCI while expressing deep concerns over the death of six people and hospitalization of dozens of others on Sunday night in Kemari area due to diffusion poisonous gas in the air, stated that it was really unfortunate and worrisome to see that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which was established with a prime objective to respond to such calamities, neither reached the affected area to rescue and find out the causes nor bothered to give any statement over the tragic incident.

    “Is NDMA responsible for responding only to those disasters in which more than 100 casualties occur”, he asked, adding that life of a single innocent person in such a calamity is also equally important hence, the NDMA and others must respond as quickly as possible.

    Agha Shahab stressed that NDMA should have rapidly responded to this particular incident in Kemari as soon as the first causality was reported but unfortunately, people kept losing their lives and dozens were hospitalized while the disaster management authority was not seen anywhere around and only a handful of the volunteers from Edhi and Chhipa reached the spot to rescue the affectees.

    He further urged that the concerned authorities must thoroughly investigate and find out the exact source of poisonous gas and accordingly take strict measures to avoid such incidents in future. “A Rapid Response Force must be established to deal with such calamities in Karachi as it is not the first time when people lost their lives. People are losing their lives in various incidents including fire eruptions, explosions caused by gas cylinders, buildings’ collapse and fatal road accidents etc. but no dedicated and fully equipped Rapid Response Force exists in the city that always results in raising the number of casualties”, he added.

    He was of the opinion that all such incidents remain confined to just summoning a report by the Chief Minister but no concrete step has ever been taken to minimize the loss of precious lives which is really worrisome for business community and the citizens of Karachi.

    He said that all the financial resources of Karachi are being utilized to run the entire country but a meager amount was hardly being spent on the city’s development. In response to Kemari incident, Federal Minister for Maritime Ali Zaidi stated that KPT has no resources to deal with such tragedies while the Sindh government and Mayor KMC are also complaining about having limited or no resources. It appears that Karachi, which contributes more than 70 percent revenue to the national exchequer is constantly being neglected by all three tiers of the government and continues to receive step motherly treatment, he added.

  • Karachi Chamber welcomes ease in US, UK travel advisory for Pakistan

    Karachi Chamber welcomes ease in US, UK travel advisory for Pakistan

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Tuesday welcomed the decision of United States and United Kingdom for easing travel advisory for Pakistan.

    KCCI president Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan in a statement said that the Karachi Chamber has been widely demanding relaxation in travel advisory and it was really heartening to see that the travel advisories have finally been eased by both these countries which would surely bring the people, particularly the business communities, more close to each other.

    “During the visit of every single diplomat throughout year, Chairman Businessmen Group Siraj Teli and all Office Bearers have been vocally urging the world community to ease travel advisories for Pakistan particularly Karachi.

    “We are very delighted to see that US and UK have relaxed their travel advisories and hope that more such announcements will be made by other important countries, particularly those from the European region as the security situation in Pakistan is much better now and it is a safe and secure destination for foreign investors and visitors,” he added in a statement issued.

    Agha Shahab, while terming it ‘a step in the right direction’, commented that this clearly indicates that the US and UK have realized the improved security situation in Pakistan thanks to the untiring efforts made by Law Enforcing Agencies who struggled really hard to cleanse Pakistan from the menace of terrorism and lawlessness.

    “After this positive news, the business and industrial community of Karachi expects improved trade and investment ties with the businessmen and investors from US and UK which was badly needed to deal with the ongoing economic crises being faced by the country,” he said while urging the business communities of the two major economies to come forward and visit Pakistan which offers immense trade and investment opportunities in almost all the sectors of the economy.

    He said that foreign investors from US and UK looking forward to invest or undertake joint venture in Pakistan must at least pay one visit to Karachi in order to see the ground realities themselves instead of relying on media reports which are usually exaggerated to create hype.

    Karachi is the financial, industrial and commercial hub of Pakistan contributing more than 70 percent revenue to the national exchequer.

  • Bahria Town investors fear their life-time savings at stake

    Bahria Town investors fear their life-time savings at stake

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday advised the management of Bahria Town to act sensibly as investors are fearing their life-time savings are at stake.

    Acting President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Arshad Islam and Chairman of Karachi Chamber’s Housing, Construction & Real Estate Subcommittee Asif Sumsum at a meeting while expressing deep concerns over the hardships being faced by the allottees and members of Bahria Town, stated that the management of Bahria Town should have to act sensibly and they must prudently tackle the situation otherwise the project was likely to turn into a yet another serious scam which was neither in the interest of Bahria Town nor in the interest of Real Estate Agents, Investors and the General Public whose are fearing that all their lifetime savings were at stake.

    They underscored that any issue pertaining to additional charges or irregularities in the Bahria Town project have to be amicably resolved as it was not just a matter of grave concerns for the real estate agents, investors and overseas Pakistanis but also for thousands of those masses who have invested their hard earned monies and savings in different projects of Bahria Town so that they could ultimately have their own house in a beautiful, safe and secure locality which is obviously the biggest dream of almost all the people.

    Nobody can afford to see Bahria Town sinking, as it would give a serious blow not just to Bahria Town but also to all the stakeholders including the perturbed allottees and investors therefore, any irregularities in this essential project must be cautiously rectified and relief has to be provided as per aspirations of the perturbed masses, they added.

    Acting President KCCI and Chairman Housing, Construction & Real Estate Subcommittee stressed that the management of Bahria Town must devise those policies and strategies that ensure uninterrupted activities at Bahria Town. Not only Bahria Town but all other Developers must strictly refrain from taking those steps that terribly shake the confidence of the public and result in drowning their investments.

    The present government, local relevant authorities and the management of Bahria Town will have to seriously handle the situation, they said, adding that the Karachi Chamber, being the premier chamber of the country, is keeping a strong vigil on numerous developments in this particular issue and would certainly raise strong voice and knock every single door for assistance, if any injustice is done to the public.

    “KCCI, under its policy of ‘Public Service’ introduced by Chairman BMG Siraj Kassam Teli intervenes in every single matter that directly or indirectly affects the business & industrial community or the citizens of this city”, Acting President KCCI Arshad Islam said, “We are neither against the management of Bahria Town nor favoring anyone but would be happy to see that the issue is amicably resolved which is in the larger interest of this city.”