Faisalabad-Qingdao cooperation: FCCI president highlights importance

Cooperation between Faisalabad and Qingdao could transform both cities as regional hub of industrial, commercial, educational and research activities which would play a catalytic role in the overall growth of both countries, said Atif Munir Sheikh, President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI).

He was addressing a zoom conference specially arranged by Pak-China Centre in connection with declaring Faisalabad and Qingdao as "sister cities" to mark the 70th anniversary of the communist party of China.

He said that Faisalabad has emerged as the fastest growing city of Pakistan which is contributing a major role in the overall economy of Pakistan. As regards FCCI, he said that it is the elected forum of the business community of Faisalabad which has 8000 members within its fold. He said that Faisalabad is strategically located in the heart of Pakistan which is well connected through road, rail and air links.

"Faisalabad has two mega industrial estates where many foreign companies including Chinese firms have already established their units which are working profitably", he said and added that investors have been given special incentives of ten years tax holiday which has made it most lucrative for foreign investors.

He said that Pakistan is importing raw material from China and now investors from Qingdao should also exploit this potential by establishing units to fulfil the needs of local industrial sector.

He further said that surplus production could also be exported to the Middle East and other counties. He quoted his recent meeting with Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and said that he himself inaugurated a Foreign Investment Facilitation Desk for the convenience of new investors. "Similarly, an inspector-less regime has also been introduced to save them from unnecessary hassle", he added.

Former president Engineer Rizwan Ashraf said that Faisalabad alone is contributing US eight billion dollars through the export of textile products in addition to fulfilling the 80 percent needs of the domestic cloth market. He said that Faisalabad has a sufficient quantity of skilled human resource while we have inked a number of agreements with global organizations including GIZ to upgrade the quality of our human resource.

He termed Faisalabad as the most lucrative city for investment and proposed that direct flights between Faisalabad and Qingdao could be started to further strengthen our business relations.

Former president Shabbir Hussain Chawla said that Pakistan is importing huge quantity of dyes and chemicals from China which could be produced in Faisalabad by launching joint ventures with Chinese investors.