EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN

(COMMERCIAL SECTION)

DOHA

Monthly Report for the Month ofAugust, 2017

  1. Overview of bilateral trade.

Trade US$ Million
(1) / Apr-Jun 2017
(2) / August 2017
(3) / July 2017
(4) / August 2016
(5) / July 2016
(6) / % Change
July-August
(7)
Pak Export / 17.360 / 6.634 / 5.643 / 5.004 / 3.222 / 49.25%
Pak Import / 354.90 / 145.768 / 102.951 / 75.880 / 70.565 / 69.84%
  • Note 1:The monthlyexport and import data in columns (3) to (6)constitute the latest figures for a month availableat the State Bank of Pakistan website.
  • Note 2: The consolidated data provided in column (2) for the June quarter is from Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, Qatar.
  1. Trade Promotion Activities
  1. Visit of Delegation from FPCCI

A high-level delegation of Pakistani businesses visited Doha from 12th to 14th August, 2017 in an effort to boost trade and investment opportunities between the brotherly Islamic countries. The visit had been arranged on the invitation of Qatar Chambers of Commerce & Industry (QCCI) but materialised as a result of long-standing efforts of the Embassy of Pakistan, Doha under the leadership of H.E. Shahzad Ahmad, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Doha, for enhancing bilateral trade between Pakistan and Qatar.

2.The delegation was led by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) President Mr. Zubair K. Tufail and comprised leading businessmen belonging to food, agriculture, shipping, pharmaceutical, textiles and chemicals sectors. Details of the delegates are provided below:

  • Mr. Zubair Tufail (Leader of the Delegation), President FPCCI
  • Muhammad Adrees, Former President FPCCI & CHAIRMAN/CEO Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development & Management company (FIEDMC)
  • Mr. Mehmood Arshad, Chairman Pakistan-Qatar Business Council of FPCCI & Proprietor, M/s Tawun
  • Mr. Mohammad Jawed Akhai, Chairman, M/s. Martin Dow Limited
  • Mr. Azher Shamim Anwar, Managing Director, M/s. Bahria Foundation
  • Mr. Moeen Ahmad Warraich, General Manager (Maritime Services), M/s. Bahria Foundation
  • Mr. Muhammad Mustafa Kamal, MD, M/s. Big Bird Foods (Pvt) Ltd
  • Mr. Haroon Shafiq Chaudhary, CEO, Hac Agri Ltd
  • Syed Ali Aamir, Group Director Finance & IT, M/s Martin Dow Limited
  • Mr. Asim Mustafa, Director, Getz Pharma
  • Mr. Nadeem Rehmat, C.O.O ( Plant & B.D), M/s. Pharmevo (Pvt) Ltd.
  • Mr. Atiq Kochra, Korangi Association of Trade & Industry (KATI)

3.The delegates arrived over two days i.e. 12th and 13th August, 2017 and Embassy of Pakistan made special arrangements for receiving them through the VIP Lounge. Throughout the visit, the logistic arrangements were made by the Embassy of Pakistan through assistance from the Qatar Chambers of Commerce & Industry and local Pakistani community without any financial obligation.

B2B MEETINGS

4.During their stay in Doha, the delegates through the active assistance of the Commercial Section, Embassy of Pakistan were able to participate in B2B meetings with prominent business leaders as well as the heads of Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani Qatar) and Pharmaceutical and Drug Control Department, Ministry of Public Health. Whereas the formal request for arranging the said meetings was received from FPCCI only on 8th August, 2017, the Embassy of Pakistan pro-actively pursued the relevant organisations and successfully organised various meetings, some even simultaneously. Accordingly, on 13th, 14th and 15th August following B2B meetings were organised:

13th August, 2017
Time / Meeting with / Attended by
9:00am to 10:00am / Mohamed Bad​r Hashem Al-Sada, Chief Executive Officer, M/s Hassad Food / Mr. Zubair Tufail (Leader of the Delegation), President FPCCI, HE Shahzad Ahmad, Ambassador of Pakistan, Mr.Muhammad Adrees, Former President FPCCI & Chairman/CEO FIEDMC, Mr. Mehmood Arshad, Chairman Pakistan-Qatar Business Council of FPCCI, Mr. Muhammad Mustafa Kamal, MD, M/s. Big Bird Foods (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Haroon Shafiq Chaudhary, CEO, Hac Agri Ltd
Mr. Atiq Kochra, KATI and Mr. Salman Ali, Commercial Secretary, Doha
10:00am to 12:00pm / Own Factory Initiative for Medical Segment at the Ministry of Economy and Trade in Lusail.
On the sidelines of the conference, the delegates had the chance to communicate with Dr. Aisha Ibrahim Al-Ansari, Director, Pharmacy & Drug Control Department, Ministry of Public Health and her deputy Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Hussein (Head of drug registration unit). / Mr.Javed Akhai, CEO Martin Dow Pharma, Mr.Asim Mustafa, Director Getz Pharma, Mr.Nadeem Rehmat, COO, PharmEvo, Mr. Ali Aamir, Group Director Finance & IT, Martin Dow Limited along with Mr. Mohamed Mansoor, Trade Development Officer, Embassy of Pakistan and Ms. Saba (Translator)
10:30am to 11:30am / Capt. Abdulla Al Khanji,
CEO Mwani, Qatar (Qatar Ports Management Company) and Capt. Abdul Aziz, Director of Hamad Port at the Hamad Port Office of the CEO. / Vice Admiral Azher Shamim Anwer (retd) Managing Director Bahria Foundation and he will be accompanied by Cdre Moeen Warraich (Retd) GM Bahria Foundation and Cdre Irfan Taj, Defence Attaché, Embassy of Pakistan.
11:00am to 12:00pm / Mr.Faisal Abbas Ch., CFA Business Development Department accompanied by Mr. Abdulhadi Ali Al-Hajri, Associate Director, Commodities Department at Qatar Investment Authority / Mr. Zubair Tufail (Leader of the Delegation), President FPCCI, HE Shahzad Ahmad, Ambassador of Pakistan, Mr.Muhammad Adrees, Former President FPCCI & Chairman/CEO FIEDMC, Mr. Mehmood Arshad, Chairman Pakistan-Qatar Business Council of FPCCI, Mr. Muhammad Mustafa Kamal, MD, M/s. Big Bird Foods (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Haroon Shafiq Chaudhary, CEO, Hac Agri Ltd
Mr. Atiq Kochra, KATI and Mr. Salman Ali, Commercial Secretary, Doha
14th August, 2017
Time / Meeting with / Attended by
8:00 am to 9:30am / Meeting with Dr. Aisha Ibrahim Al-Ansari, Director, Pharmacy & Drug Control Department, Ministry of Public Health and her deputy Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Hussein (Head of drug registration unit). / Mr.Javed Akhai, CEO Martin Dow Pharma, Mr.Asim Mustafa, Director Getz Pharma, Mr.Nadeem Rehmat, COO, PharmEvo, Mr. Ali Aamir, Group Director Finance & IT, Martin Dow Limited along with Mr. Mohamed Mansoor, Trade Development Officer, Embassy of Pakistan.
3:00pm to 5:00pm / Meeting with Engr.Sherif Shehata, General Manager of Aamal Medical Q.S.C/ Ibn-e-Sina Group (largest distributor of medicines in Qatar) / Mr.Asim Mustafa, Director Getz Pharma, Mr.Nadeem Rehmat, COO, PharmEvo along with Mr. Mohamed Mansoor, Trade Development Officer, Embassy of Pakistan. They were later joined by Mr.Javed Akhai, CEO Martin Dow Pharma and Mr. Ali Aamir, Group Director Finance & IT, Martin Dow Limited.
3:00pm to 4:00pm / Abdul Aziz, Head of Business Development, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Mr. Faisal Abbas Ch. / Mr.Javed Akhai, CEO Martin Dow Pharma and Mr. Ali Aamir, Group Director Finance & IT, Martin Dow Limited.
15th August, 2017
Time / Meeting with / Attended by
10:00am to 11:00am / Mr.Faisal Abbas Ch., CFA Business Development Department accompanied by Mr. Abdulhadi Ali Al-Hajri, Associate Director, Commodities Department at Qatar Investment Authority. / Mr. Muhammad Mustafa Kamal, MD, M/s. Big Bird Foods (Pvt) Ltd accompanied by Mr. Mohamed Mansoor, Trade Development Officer, Embassy of Pakistan.

1ST MEETING OF QATAR-PAKISTAN JOINT BUSINESS COUNCIL

5.During the visit, the inaugural meeting of the Qatar-Pakistan Joint Business Council was held on 14th August, 2017. The agenda of the said meeting was as follows:

  • Recitation from the Holy Quran
  • Introduction of Members
  • Brief introduction of the members of JBC from both Sides (Pakistan Chapter and Qatar Chapter)
  • Current Scenario of Pakistan- Qatar mutual trade
  • Investment Opportunities for Pakistani & Qatari Businessmen in each other’s countries
  • FIFA World Cup 2022 projects and expected role of Pakistani business community for timely completion of its projects
  • Exchange of delegations on reciprocal basis
  • To consider and discuss the possibility of holding Single country exhibitions in Qatar and Pakistan on reciprocal basis. (Pakistan Single Country Exhibition/Investment Conference in Doha)
  • Conclusion and adoption of the report of the meeting.

6.In the absence of the Chairman Qatar Chambers of Commerce & Industry (QCCI) (who was in Turkey at the time), its board members were led by its Vice Chairman Mr. Mohamed bin Towar al-Kuwari. After a detailed introduction of the participants from both sides, Mr. al-Kuwari acknowledged that it was for the first time that Pakistan has sent such a strong delegation of business leaders. He invited Mr. Zubair K. Tufail to address the participants. Mr. Tufail stated that the visit was aimed towards boosting trade relations between the two countries. Mr. Tufail said that Pakistan will focus on food stuff exports to Qatar but he also invited Qatari companies to invest in Pakistan. Citing the example of the steel industry, he said that the steel industry required investment and expressed his desire to see some Qatari private business or investment company to come forward and take part in this investment for steel. Pakistan is importing about 4mn tonnes of steel from Russia, China, and other countries but there are many opportunities for Qatari companies to invest in manufacturing steel products in Pakistan. Aside from the steel industry, Mr. Tufail also invited companies from Qatar to invest in Pakistan’s infrastructure, ports, hospitals, telecommunications, and shopping mall sector. Pakistan has 120mn cell connections with just four companies operating in the telecommunications sector. In Karachi, which has a population of more than 20mn, there are only three to four existing malls. Pakistan for its major cities needed at least 15 to 20 malls for which Qatari companies with experience in this sector were welcome to invest.

7.Mr. Zubair K. Tufail also stated that Qatar’s exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Pakistan were expected to reach $1bn per year and acknowledged that the LNG from Qatar was going a long way in addressing the perennial power shortage problem faced by the industrial sector in Pakistan. Citing the challenges Pakistan is facing the field of energy supply, Tufail said until last year, the country had endured long power outages lasting to as long as 16 hours per day. According to Tufail, Pakistan receives as much as four LNG cargo ships per month from Qatar. Under the terms of the agreement signed with Pakistan State Oil (PSO) in February 2016, Qatargas 2 is required to supply 3.75mn tonnes a year of LNG to PSO for a period of 15 years. In 2016, Qatar’s exports to Pakistan stood at $685.6mn comprising mainly of petroleum oil and gas, ethylene polymers in its primary shape, organic and chemical products, tools and equipment, and lead (raw). Qatari imports from Pakistan stood at $87.01mn in 2016 comprising of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and peal of citrus; garments and its articles; semi milled or whole cereals; meat and edible meat; profiles and iron pipes; articles of apparel and clothing accessories not knitted or crocheted; other textile articles; and miscellaneous spices.

8.Mr. Tufail also informed the participants that preparations are underway for the establishment of up to two manufacturing facilities in Qatar. In this regard, two Pakistani pharmaceutical companies were considering Joint Ventures with Qatari companies for setting up pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Qatar, according to Mr.Tufail. He informed the participants that the Pakistani delegation included delegates from the Pakistani company called Martin Dow, which had four manufacturing units in Pakistan and two plants in France. They had been invited by the Ministry of Public Health, Qatar to establish a manufacturing plant in Qatar. He informed that Martin Dow intended to form a company in Qatar and it planned to manufacture pharmaceutical products in Qatar in a year’s time. Mr. Tufail also stated that Pakistani companies in the food industry were also invited their Qatari counterparts to venture into the country’s poultry sector. A Qatari company is also going to invest in Pakistan’s food industry to secure the maximum quantity of poultry for Qatar. Two Pakistani firms specialising in the food stuff industry also received orders from private companies in Qatar.

9.In his response, Mr. al-Kuwari stated that total trade between the two countries reached QR2.85bn ($783mn) in 2016 with Pakistan being Qatar’s 21st trading partner. He however stated that out of the total Qatari exports to Pakistan, most of them related to the LNG-deal signed in 2016 which was a state-level seal. He exhorted the Qatari businessmen to double the trade. He called on both the Qatari and Pakistani private sector to establish effective partnerships and engage in high-value projects that contribute to advancing these relations. He urged the private sector to benefit from the investment opportunities in Pakistan and to partner with Pakistani business owners, especially in the food, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, agriculture, and other sectors. He welcomed the possibility that Qatar could export pharmaceutical products to Europe, Africa, and other parts of the GCC by next year due to establishment of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities by Pakistani businesses. He acknowledged that the Government in Qatar was positioning Qatar as a regional manufacturing hub and in this regard incentivizing local and foreign investment in setting up of manufacturing facilities.

10.Mr.Mohamed bin Ahmed al-Obaidly, Qatar Chamber board member and Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment, said that the chamber wanted to see Qatar transform into a regional business hub considering the modern facilities and infrastructure in the country, which is why QCCI was trying to attract major investors. He added that QCCI looked forward to seeing Qatari and Pakistani private sector players forge stronger ties and provide added value to the growth in trade exchange between the two countries.

DETAILS OF SALIENT DEVELOPMENTS

Pharmaceutical Sector

11.The developments with respect to the pharmaceutical sector are very promising. The Commercial Section, Embassy of Pakistan through vigorous efforts was able to arrange a very important meeting with the Head of Pharmacy & Drug Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, which is the regulatory authority for drug control in Qatar. That meeting allowed Pakistani entrepreneurs in the pharma sector to explain to the regulator about the processes employed in Pakistan for manufacturing the medicines and the various WHO and other international standards/guidelines complied by these manufacturing facilities. Impressed by the delegates from Pakistan, Dr. Aisha Ibrahim Al-Ansari invited them to send samples of their medicines along with the list of medicines with both their commercial and chemical/scientific names for commencing their registration process. She also urged them to identify local partners/distributors for marketing their medicines once they received approval from the Pharmacy & Drug Control Department.

12.The Commercial Section, thereafter also arranged the meetings of the delegates with the Ibn-e-Sina Group, one of the largest distributors of medicines in Qatar who showed keen interest in buying drugs/medicines from Pakistan. There is a real likelihood that one or more Pakistan-based pharmaceutical companies will be able to commence their commercial relationship with Ibn-e-Sina Group very shortly upon receiving registration from the Pharmacy & Drug Control Department.

13.Martin Dow Limited taking benefit of the Own Factory Initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Trade in Lusail, to which the Pakistani delegates gained a belated entry through the efforts of the Embassy of Pakistan, has applied for setting up its manufacturing facility in Qatar. The company has previous experience of setting up a manufacturing facility in France and views Qatar as a hub for exporting its products throughout the GCC region. Investment by Martin Dow in Qatar will in the long term benefit Pakistan due to repatriation of its profits to Pakistan. With the assistance of Embassy of Pakistan, the company’s management is planning a further visit to Qatar after the Eid Break. Martin Dow Limited has also found traction with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) with a strong possibility of QIA investing in one of Martin Dow’s ventures.

Food Sector

14.Pakistan’s geographical proximity to Qatar and its reputation as a producer of top-notch agricultural and food products places it in a uniquely advantageous position vis-à-vis its regional competitors for increasing its exports to Qatar. During the visit, representatives from M/s. Big Bird Foods (Pvt) Ltd and M/s. Hac Agri Ltd had fruitful discussions with their Qatari counter-parts. M/s Big Bird Foods (Pvt.) Ltd especially had very receptive deliberations at M/s Hassad Food Ltd and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) regarding its poultry business. M/s Big Bird Foods (Pvt.) Ltd had already been exporting limited quantities of chilled chicken on a trial basis to Lulu Supermarkets in Doha and M/s Hassad Food agreed that its subsidiary Mahaseel could work with M/s Big Bird Foods (Pvt.) Ltd for marketing of its poultry products. In its meeting with QIA, M/s Big Bird Foods (Pvt.) Ltd was asked to submit concrete proposals along with financial feasibility reports, if it sought investment from QIA in enhancement of its production lines. M/s. Hac Agri Ltd is developing state-of-the-art storage facilities in Pakistan for storage of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since this segment of business is still in development phase, nothing concrete could emerge during the discussions. However, privately M/s Hac Agri Ltd which also owns the famous Bunny’s confectionery brand had good discussions regarding distribution of its products in Qatar.