PUKBC-FPCCI hosted an awareness session held in collaboration with ASPIRE Pakistan and Pak Angels. The event focused on boosting the Startups and Angel Investing ecosystem under the guidance of the Pakistanis who have been successful in the dynamic technology sector abroad. The awareness session was followed by a curated showcase of 20 local tech startups for the participants. This first-of-its-kind initiative at Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry aimed to promote interest in new ideas, ventures, products and services driven by technology and innovation. The event included participation of various stakeholders including Pakistan Stock Exchange - PSX, which has a new GEM Board for public listing of emerging businesses. LADIESFUND® and various financial institutions actively participated along with potential investors from the wider business community and the Pakistani diaspora.
Read MorePUKBC-FPCCI in collaboration with TDAP and LADIESFUND® held a successful awareness session on ‘Online Selling to UK Buyers’. The session was opened by SVP, FPCCI Mr. Suleman Chawla and Secretary, TDAP Mr. Fareed Iqbal Qureshi. President, Ladiesfund T U Dawood also graced the occasion. PUKBC Chair Imran Khalil Naseer led the event with support of PUKBC Directors and the FPCCI team. The hybrid session was well attended by a diverse group of participants including women entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals. Highly informative presentations were made by Adil Mukhtar Chaudhry, Asst. Director, TDAP and Mr. Muhammad Akhtar, Trade & Investment Attaché, Consulate General of Pakistan in Manchester, followed by Q&A. Click below to watch the session recording.
Read MoreMr. Shafiq Shahzad - Trade and Investment Minister at Pakistan High Commission - London and Mr. Muhammad Akhtar Trade & Investment Secretary - Consulate General of Pakistan in Manchester. The state of bilateral trade between Pakistan and UK were briefed in detail with the support of trade data of both goods and services. The gaps and opportunities were discussed at length and an insightful understanding was developed on the way forward. Businesses from across Pakistan attended the Hybrid event to explore areas of opportunities with UK (including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar and Charsadda Chambers).
Read MorePak-UK Business Council engages with TDAP (Trade Development Authority of Pakistan) meets Chief Executive - TDAP Muhammad Zubair Motiwala and Secretary Dr Fareed Iqbal Qureshi. Both sides agreed to enhance collaboration to promote cooperation and business development opportunities working with UK businesses and stakeholders.
Read MoreThe Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) sees lucrative potential to increase bilateral trade with the UK by 20-30% on annual basis. UK is one of the few countries with which Pakistan enjoys a trade surplus. In 2022, the trade balance was in favour of Pakistan by £1.1 billion or $1.33 billion. FPCCI Irfan Iqbal President said on Monday that “UK is one of the most significant export markets for Pakistani products with substantial and maintainable export numbers and rare trade surplus.” “There is massive potential to increase exports to UK,” he said. His optimism emanated from the fact that Pakistan posted a handsome 38.6% increase in exports to the UK from Q4 2021 to Q3 2022, according to the factsheet recently released by UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT). (BUSINESS RECORDER)
Read MorePakistan-UK Business Council hosted an incoming delegation from UK led by Pakistan-Britain Business Council at FPCCI Head Office, Federation House on 9th February 2023. A meeting was held to discuss opportunities followed by a B2B networking for members from both bodies.
Read MoreIrfan Iqbal Sheikh, President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), has said that FPCCI’s Pakistan-UK Business Council (PUKBC) has made it possible for Pakistani exporters to access 15,000 Scottish businesses through a landmark trade promotion & facilitation agreement with Scottish Chambers of Commerce. He was speaking at the annual meeting of PUKBC. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh apprised, grounded in research, that the true potential of Pak-UK trade in the near-term of less than three years lies around £6 billion; from the current volume of £3.5 billion; whereas, the export potential is £4 billion from the current £2.1 billion. He apprised that FY22 has seen a growth of 28.3 percent in Pakistan’s bilateral trade with the UK. The annual meet was attended by the who’s who of the business community active in Pak-UK business, commercial, financial, trade, JVs, investments and economic cooperation. This year various services sectors expressed their interest in enormous potential to export services to the UK. Imran Khalil, Chairman PUKBC, welcomed businesses to the annual gathering and encouraged them to leverage the partnerships established by PUKBC to increase trade and working partnerships with their UK counterparts. He added that the agreement with the Scottish Chamber will provide access to over 50% of Scottish registered businesses and around 30 regional chambers of commerce of Scotland like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, etc. This will also enable both sides to access each other’s expertise, products and brands, he added. (BUSINESS RECORDER)
Read MoreA productive networking meeting involving the PUKBC delegation and the Overseas Pakistanis community in Scotland was organized by the Consulate of Pakistan in Glasgow hosted by H.E. Syed Zahid Raza, Consul General.
Read MoreA business delegation of FPCCI's Pakistan UK Business Council led by VP Mr. Shaukat Omerson & Dr. Shehzad Amin attend the Pakistan-UK Trade Opportunities & Cooperation event in Leeds with Mark Eastwood MP, Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Pakistan, Steve Garcia, International Trade Advisor (DIT), James Mason, CEO West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Michael Treacy, CEO Mabey Bridge, David Hughes, Chief Commercial Officer Transfermate. Suleman Chawla SVP FPCCI and Imran Khalil Chair PUKBC also shared their remarks via Zoom. The event was organized and hosted by Pakistan-Britain Business Council and was followed by a networking lunch with businesses from Yorkshire and Humber.
Read MoreA delegation of FPCCI's Pakistan UK Business Council met with The Belt and Road Association (U.K.) along with Trade and Investment Secretary, Consulate of Pakistan in Manchester Mr. Muhammad Akhtar. Introductory meeting was held between the two business chambers followed by B2B meet-ups conducted at BRI offices.
Read MorePUKBC delegates visited West London Chambers of Commerce and interacted with its leadership and stakeholders. An MoU was signed between FPCCI and West London Chambers to solidify a collaboration between both entities on behalf of their members. Dr. Shehzad Amin, Director, represented PUKBC while FPCCI was represented by Mr. Shaukat Omerson, Vice President of FPCCI.
Read MoreAt an interaction in London, the delegates discussed with Hyve Group the potential that Pakistan’s IT industry had to offer to businesses in the UK. With an export growth rate of 47% YOY, Pakistan had both low cost and good quality to offer. Hyve Group expressed a serious interest in enabling Pakistan’s IT businesses to showcase their products and services at annual BETT events in the UK.
Read More“The signing of this strategic understanding with Scottish Chambers will open new avenues of collaboration for businesses on both sides. It will strengthen Pakistan’s business relations with Scotland to promote trade and possibilities of joint ventures (JVs). This MOU will connect Pakistan’s apex chamber of commerce and industry with Scotland’s most influential business to business network.” - Imran Khalil Naseer, Chairman Pakistan-UK Business Council
Read MoreIn order to enhance Bilateral Trade between Pakistan & UK and to promote Technology and Innovation Sector in Pakistan, PUKBC-FPCCI hosted an incoming UK Trade Delegation comprising of Mr. Stephen Tweed (International Director, British Computer Society - The Chartered Institute of IT), Mr. Asad Ansari (MD AccrediNation UK), Ms. Atifa Shah (IT Transformation Director, Public Sector, Government and Public Affairs) and Mr. Ilyas Mansha (MD Cyber Security, Accenture UK). Various IT firms, P@SHA and relevant stakeholders in Pakistan were invited to interact with the visiting delegates. FPCCI Vice Presidents Mr. Shabbir Mansha Churra, Haji Muhammad Yaqoob & Mr. Shoukat Ali Omerson and Chair PUKBC-FPCCI Mr. Imran Khalil assured their full support to the delegation from the UK.
Read MorePUKBC is actively working on exploring possibilities of improving business and investment relations between the two countries through various activities. The council regularly identifies areas of co-operation, where both business communities benefit.
Read MoreIn 2021, Pak-UK Business Council of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) made efforts to bring the business communities of both countries closer by arranging webinars and conferences in a bid to boost bilateral trade. As reported by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), merchandise exports to UK jumped 25% during fiscal year 2020-21 to $2.047 billion from $1.638 billion in fiscal year 2019-20. Although this shows significant growth on a year-on-year basis however the rise was witnessed due to low base effect induced by Covid-19 because earnings in fiscal year 2018-19 clocked in at $1.758 billion.
Read MoreIn the online session, the activities of PUKBC-FPCCI in 2021 & also the opportunities it offers for collaborations were discussed. How PUKBC can serve as the initial point of contact for businesses and professionals by access to its member network across the country? How Paklaunch.com members can provide sector-specific assistance in skill development, capacity building, and enabling investments?
Read MoreFPCCI president Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo welcomed the gathering of e-commerce trainers and practitioners at the Federation House to educate and train the businessmen and entrepreneurs on getting started and profitably selling globally through Amazon’s platform. Ather Sultan Chawla, vice-president of the FPCCI, said that the apex trade body is committed to help the businesses tap new markets and new avenues to grow and diversify through the use of digital platforms and Amazon is the best platform to sell globally. (Video recording - 16 min mark onwards): https://bit.ly/3KefjiD
Read MorePak-UK Business Council of FPCCI organized a webinar (which is the first collaborative event of its kind) with Greater Manchester Chambers of Commerce (GMCC) to provide information on business and investment opportunities in Pakistan — as well as how to connect with partners and potential customers. The webinar focused on diversification of exports between the two countries to further enhance and strengthen economic ties.
Read MorePak-UK Business Council of FPCCI (Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry) organized an awareness session on Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) for overseas Pakistanis in United Kingdom. The session was held in collaboration with Pakistan High Commission in United Kingdom, Central Depository Company of Pakistan Ltd (CDC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL).
Read MoreThe Pak-UK Business Council of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) had signed a partnership agreement with Greater Manchester Chambers of Commerce, which has over 5,000 registered British businesses based in the Greater Manchester region of UK.
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