Speakers hail over £1.5b UK Export Finance

ISLAMABAD (APP): The speakers in webinar on Friday appreciated the United Kingdom (UK) Export Finance has increased its guarantee support for Pakistan to over £1.5 billion for promoting the trade and investment ties between both sides.
This additional capacity is to assist UK exporters to win, fulfill and get paid for export contracts and to help Pakistan’s buyers to access finance to source high-quality UK goods and services, they updated.
Webinar on Doing Business in Pakistan Opportunities for United Kingdom (UK-Businesses to Explore Pakistan as a Priority Market Dated 9 June 2021 Pakistan Britain Business Counsel (PBBC) and British Expertise International (BEI) co-sponsored a Doing Business in Pakistan, said a press release issued here Friday.
In Webinar, the speakers who addressed included Julian Hamilton Barns Honorary Consul for the UK for Trade and Industry and Chairman of PBBC, Pakistan High Commissioner to UK, Moazzam Ahmed Khan, Senior Infrastructure Adviser BEI, Baroness Nosheena Mubarik CBE Campbell Kier, CEO Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade Hassan Daud Butt, British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi and Trade Director Pakistan Mike Nithavrianakis, Head of International Trade Department Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Susana Cordoba and CEO Punjab Board of Investment, Dr Erfa Iqbal.
The Webinar also included a number of interesting case studies from entrepreneurs who were actively engaged in trading activities in both the UK and Pakistan including Creative Artistic Director Saeeda Mandviwalla and CEO of Essensuals Hairdressing Karachi Pakistan CEO TONI Guy,Tony McSweeny CEO T&A Apparel Group Limited T/A Mondedor and Ali Hasan Director UK and EU Mehran Foods Pakistan.
The event was attended by members of the British and Pakistan Business Communities, stakeholders and other institutions involved in developing trade between Britain and Pakistan. The event was opened by Julian Hamilton Barns Chairman of PBBC who welcomed Pakistan High Commissioner in UK Moazzam Ahmed Khan and other distinguished guests.
The High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK, Moazzam Ahmed Khan said that Pakistan was transitioning towards sustainable growth pointing out that Pakistan’s current account was running into surplus, that foreign exchange reserves had doubled with remittances, exports and portfolio investments surging. He also spoke about the ‘One Window Facility’ for investors, liberal fiscal and monetary incentives which all contributed to Pakistan’s upward movement in the Ease of Business world rankings and he referred to the immense business opportunities open to British and international investors in Pakistan ranging across all industry sectors.
The speakers particularly drew attention to the favorable economic outlook for Pakistan and recent published data regarding Pakistan Government’s policies seeking to facilitate ease of Doing Business in Pakistan.
A key development facilitating Pakistan’s development involved its greater connectivity in practical terms with BA and Virgin Airlines giving access to key travel hubs and in digital terms where great advances had been made during the COVID Pandemic.
Among the distinguished speakers was BEI’s Senior Infrastructure Adviser and President of the Energy Industry Council, Campbell Keir.
He spoke about opportunities and challenges for businesses operating in emerging and developing countries post-Covid and what UK businesses can offer these high growth market. Campbell identified three key areas: supply chains, healthcare, and education as offering investment opportunities for UK businesses in the recovery from Covid-19.
He also emphasized the demand for infrastructure investment in all economies but especially developing economies like Pakistan is very high, and that while private funding is available investors require projects to conform to global sustainability targets which can be challenging.
Businesses struggling to secure funding can look to British expertise and PBBC for help.
The CEOs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade and Punjab Board of Investment Hasan Daud Butt and Dr Erfa Iqbal each gave very interesting and informative Presentations about Business opportunities and investment in their respective regions and they committed to engage with businessmen and investors who were interested in pursuing opportunities.
Mr Hamilton Barns briefly outlined the objectives of PBBC which were to promote bilateral trade and investment between Britain and Pakistan and to endeavour to promote the perception of Pakistan as a good destination to carry on business.
Both Baroness Nosheena Mubarik and Mike Nithavrianikes outlined British Government’s support for Pakistan in terms of business financing through UK Export Finance and the UK’s Scheme of Generalised Preferences Framework.
The UK Generalised System of Preferences -Plus known as UK Enhanced Framework Tier status gives the majority of Pakistan’s exporters preferential market access to the UK on goods with reduced or zero tariffs putting Pakistan exporters at a distinct advantage to other international exporters seeking to access the UK market.
The seminar concluded with a Panel Discussion and a Questions and Answers Session, clearly indicated that there was substantial interest from potential investors looking to follow up relationships with importers.