Category: Business

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) 

A 20-member German Emirati Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AHK) business delegation, which is visiting Pakistan for a firsthand assessment of business and investment opportunities in the country held a meeting today with foreign investors, members of Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI). The German Business delegation was accompanied by Mr. Holger Ziegeler, German Consul General in Karachi, and First Secretary for Economic Affairs at the German Embassy in Islamabad.

OICCI CEO/Secretary General M. Abdul Aleem, shared a detailed presentation, highlighting the liberal policies in Pakistan for foreign direct investment (FDI) which offers tremendous opportunities for new investment. Commenting on the investment opportunities in Pakistan, Mr Aleem stated that ‘OICCI members have benefitted by taking a longer-term view which is illustrated by the fact OICCI members have re-invested over US$ 18 billion in the last 9 years which is more than the total FDI inflow into the country during this period”.

The OICCI shared with the 20 members of the German Business delegation the results of recent Business Confidence Index Survey carried out during May to July 2021 showing a dramatic upswing in Business confidence across Pakistan by 59% since the last BCI survey done in the same period in 2020. “The OICCI members randomly included in the survey are more upbeat as their confidence level has gone up by 108’, Mr Aleem added.

Mr Oliver Oehms, CEO of the visiting German Emirati Joint Council for Industry and Commerce and other members of the delegation enquired about several matters, including potential sectors for investment, special concessions for major investment in Pakistan, incentives relating to Special Economic Zones, major development projects on tourism, impact of increasing inflation on businesses in Pakistan,  tax incentives for putting up export based industries using imported raw materials and the most reliable government agency to facilitate the potential foreign investors. All the queries were duly responded by the OICCI members at the meeting.

The OICCI is the collective voice of major foreign investors in Pakistan. The over 200 OICCI members, from 35 different countries, have a presence in 14 sectors of the economy and contribute over one-third of Pakistan’s total tax revenue, besides facilitating transfer of technology and skills and providing employment to a sizeable number of people. 57 OICCI member companies are listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange and 50 members are associates of the 2020 Global Fortune 500 companies. Besides their business operations the OICCI members realize their corporate social responsibilities and are major contributors to various CSR activities benefitting 6.2 million persons from underprivileged communities in 2020.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)

Reckitt has successfully added to their growing list of accolades as their number one selling brand, Dettol, has been recognized as the ‘Most Innovative Brand’ at the 2021 DarazMall Awards, along with Reckitt itself being recognized as ‘Best Performance Marketer’. E-commerce has always been a priority at Reckitt and they have worked closely with Daraz since the last four years to increase market penetration and make business more dynamic to keep up with shifts in consumer behavior.

To increase business growth, Reckitt launched on Daraz in 2016 and since then has worked closely with Daraz on a number of digital campaigns. Reckitt is one of the first few brands that came onboard on the FMCG category on Daraz and since then, business has grown a lot over the years in terms of GMV, participation in campaigns, marketing, and contribution in campaigns. Currently, Reckitt Dettol’s store stands at 15,700 number of followers, ranking it amongst one of the highest amongst FMCG brands. The brand also ranked as one of the top 3 brands sold on the 11.11 campaign, having sold 10,000 litres of disinfectant spray in 2020.

On this event, Kashan Hasan, CEO Reckitt Pakistan commented, “We have multiplied our business with Daraz since 2019 and we need to continue to work towards developing habit change as well as understanding our consumers better, investing behind trying and testing new ideas along with ensuring that we have the right data to do that. So, to me the future is very bright and I’d like to thank Daraz for recognizing our efforts and for partnering with us to jointly grow this business”

Driven by its purpose to make business more sustainable, Reckitt has formed a strong partnership with Daraz. This achievement further reiterates the brands’ purpose to serve their customers even better by introducing cutting edge digital innovation and catering to the ever-changing consumer behavior.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Octopus Digital Initial Public Offer (IPO) received the highest number of bids in the history of the Pakistan Stock Exchange during the book-building process of the technology stock. The stock’s strike price has been set at its ceiling – Rs40.6 a share.

The tech firm was initially looking to raise a minimum Rs793million by offering 27.4 million shares at a minimum price of Rs29 per share in the IPO. But it will now raise Rs1.1 billion from the IPO after securing the highest maximum price for its stock.

Book-building was oversubscribed 27.3 times, resulting in successful bidders receiving only 2.75% of the shares they had originally bid. It means that if a person had bid for 25,000 shares, he or she will receive only 668 shares.

“The IPO received a great response,” said senior research analyst Adnan Sami Sheikh. “It was two times (over)subscribed in the first 30 minutes,” he said.

He added that this is highest response a company had ever received in the PSX’s history.

Sheikh, who is the AVP of research at Pak Kuwait Investments, said that Octopus would reap huge synergies given their longstanding history in the sector.

Octopus Digital is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avanceon Ltd. The company plans to develop 29 independent intellectual properties under different categories from which the company will be providing two main offerings – Topware and Omni Connect.

“Avanceon has been providing industrial automation solutions for over 30 years. So, they have 30 years of experience in the market and 30 years of client rights,” said Sheikh.

The book-building was held on September 9 and 10. The price was decided with institutions and high net worth individuals bidding via the Dutch auction method. The general public will be able to buy the company’s shares on September 16 and 17 at a price of Rs40.6.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The book-building phase of Octopus Digital Limited’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) has concluded with an oversubscription up to 27 times, according to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The IPO received an overwhelming response from institutional investors and high net worth individuals as the cap price clocked in at Rs. 40.6 per share, 32 percent higher than the floor price of Rs. 30.6. Octopus Digital Limited (“Octopus” or the “Company” or the “Issuer”) translated net participation of Rs. 30.2 billion in total, a little shy of Avanceon’s market cap by Rs. 3.2 billion.

Several brokerages tipped off calls to ‘subscribe,’ which resulted in an investor demand amounting to 745 million in a bid volume against the IPO’s share size of 27 million. The book-building witnessed the participation of 1,757 investors, making it Pakistan’s first tech IPO in the last seven years to get oversubscribed up to the highest ever level of the stock market.

Octopus Digital Limited was incorporated on 29th December 2017, as a private limited company in Lahore, Pakistan. Octopus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avanceon Limited and specializes in helping businesses digitize their manufacturing, supply chain, and financial workflows backed by strategic and operational maintenance support services.

Octopus Digital’s parent company Avanceon Limited is an automation consultant. As per Avanceon Limited’s financials, the company recorded a consolidated profit after the tax of Rs. 244.8 million in the first quarter ended on March 31, 2021, down from Rs. 385 million in the same three-month period of the previous year.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

After the initial success of Male Champions of Change Pakistan with leading Pakistani CEOs joining the global cohort of male leadership supporting gender equality, including CEO Telenor Pakistan, CEO Pepsi Co., CEO Serena Hotels, CEO Pakistan Microfinance Investment Corporation (PMIC), CEO EY Ford Rhodes amongst others, convenor MCC Pakistan and development expert Fiza Farhan meets and inducts CEO Interloop Limited, Navid Fazil.

The signing ceremony took place at Interloop’s Head office in Faisalabad, and was attended by Faryal Sadiq, Vice President Sales & Marketing, and Saira Taimur Khan, GM Strategic HR/Business Strategy, who together have been instrumental in bringing Interloop as Pakistan’s first local large business to the International Champions of Change Coalition representing 270+ CEOs from diverse sectors.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Navid Fazil and Interloop Pakistan to this global coalition of CEO’s and leaders working together to understand gender equality issues and lead action to accelerate progress in creating more inclusive and progressive organizations in Pakistan. While it is heartening to have a strong representation of CEO’s representing multinational companies and I thank them for their collective leadership, I feel that long-lasting and far-reaching change always comes from within, when the leadership of local businesses decides to step up beside women; challenging cultural, social and regulatory context to create unstoppable momentum for a gender equal Pakistan” said Fiza Farhan, convenor MCC Pakistan.

The Champions of Change Coalition is a globally recognized, innovative strategy for achieving gender equality, advancing more and diverse women in leadership, and building respectful and inclusive workplaces. In the strategy, men of power and influence step up beside women leaders. They form a high-profile Coalition to lead and be accountable for change on gender equality issues in their organizations and communities – be they local, national or global. The Pakistan Group was established in 2019and includes representatives from various sectors including FMCG, hospitality, telecommunications, information technology and software, micro-finance and sports organizations.

“In Pakistan, promoting gender equity is not only a business imperative, but also a social one. Despite cultural and legal barriers, we have set out to advance women throughout our organization and reap the benefits of a gender diverse workforce. We have made great progress but there is a long way to go and I am committed to continue on this journey helping building a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace,” said CEO Interloop Limited, Navid Fazil.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC), the makers of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, has announced that it would invest $100 million in the local production of hybrid electric vehicles. The amount will be invested over the period of three years, said the company in its filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

“We are pleased to announce that, based on the incentives provided against certain taxes, duties as announced by the Government of Pakistan through Finance Act 2021, and subsequent Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs), the company has evaluated and plans to invest an estimated aggregate amount of $100 million, over the next 3 years, for the local production of Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) in Pakistan,” the company wrote in letter to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The automotive manufacturing company said that the announced investment shall go towards plant upgradation, extension, localization of parts or components, and production preparation or assembling of HEVs.

“The production by the company shall be done in Port Qasim Authority, Karachi,” the statement added.

The announcement comes after Toyota Motor Corp, IMC’s parent company, said that it expected to spend more than $13.5 billion by 2030 to develop batteries and its battery supply system as the move to hybrid electric vehicles gathers steam. The federal cabinet on Dec.22 had approved Pakistan’s first Electric Vehicle Policy.

The motorcycles and vehicles would be shifted on electric power, while Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Units would also be established in the country. Under the new EV policy, the Sindh Transport Minister Syed Owais Shah back in March 2021 had launched Pakistan’s first electric bus in Karachi۔