Member of Managing Committee and Chairman of Banking & Insurance Sub-Committee
By : Khadija Khan, Mawaiz Khan Akash

BM. Would you kindly throw a brief light on your Company "Coastals" and role of government in this concerned as well?
Ans: There is a dire need of Purpose Built Warehouses (PBWH) in the country in order to provide cheaper and secure space for exporters and importers, importers of Developers and Pre Engineered I request the government to rationalise the duty structure on the import of warehouses in order to support development of cheaper warehouses.
The present duty structure on the import of warehouses includes 25 percent custom duty, 16 percent sales tax and 6 percent income tax on the importers.
Coastals has already assisted developing several PBWHs on hundreds of thousand square feet within three years at Port Qasim, Mauripur, Korangi Creek, and Korangi Industrial Area and on Hawkes Bay Road. Telling you further that due to higher cost of imported warehouses, building material and depression in economy, the development pace remained slow but the local investors were eager to invest in PBWH. You know that non-resident Pakistanis have showed a great interest and made investments in the projects of building PBWH in the country. Many projects of PBWHs were in the pipeline and Pre Engineered and RCC Barrel Shell Roof Warehouses were attracting the investors as well as gaining attention of the country's exporters and importers. Due to shortage of warehouses, the Converters, a renovated and converted warehouse took place by utilising spaces of sick mills into storage spaces. Coastals has local RCC and imported Pre Engineered Warehouses available on rent and was fulfilling the demand of rented spaces on short and long-term basis to the exporters and importers in the country.
Coastals has one window support facility for the potential investors and in requisite on consultancy and rental services for the prospective investors. International and local Logistic Support Service Providers have had taken great interest and were occupying hundreds of square feet space, hence providing their 3PL (third party logistic services) where the companies have had outsourced their products to them for warehousing and distribution."We need urgently more and more warehouses whether they are supply chain warehouses or cool chain warehouses in the country,". The special warehouses for banks and insurance companies were in the pipeline, where they keep their record in scan/films etc instead of keeping them in cartons, trunks and gunny bags. Finally I think that there is tremendous development of warehouses in the Middle East and Far East countries, besides they have warehousing cities and SME sheds.

BM. What goals you had envisioned for the establishment of your commercial set up, and to what extent you have succeeded in achieving goals?
Ans: As you know that only purpose is to serve the people of Pakistan for that there is no alternate. This is my goal, target and achievement. I, for that grand purpose, working day and night and leaving no stone unturned in servicing the humanity as a real consultant.

BM. What is you or your company's role in promoting the commerce and trade sector?
Ans: As I told you that our main and vigilant role of our company is to improve our supply chain solution. The world has excelled in supply chain solution including Australia, Canada and the United States of America. Additionally in Far East countries like Vietnam, China, Malaysia and Singapore. We, including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are supposed to be at no third because of still getting awareness in this respect. Pakistan is hopefully witnessing a fast pace track in supply chain solution. When we have established infrastructure in the form of warehouse on millions of acre then foreign companies has stepped into Pakistan to invest in warehouse and playing a significant role in boosting booming the trade commerce.

BM. Is Government is playing a significant role for the promotion of business, exclusively in the same sector you are focusing?
Ans: The Government role is not highly laudable in this concern. As we emphasized the government to pay attention on private public partnership. Government should provide free land to investors of warehouses and there should be terms & conditions.

BM. What are the roots causes of declining impression in the international markets?
Ans: There is turmoil globally and fortunately we didn't face as much problems. If we enhance our export then we can make progress very soon.

BM. Would you kindly pinpoint the hurdles and bottlenecks in the development of your sector?
Ans: In Pakistan our cost of doing business excels that is where there is decline. If government helps, give free duty then it becomes easy to do business.

BM. Would you kindly shed light on your future planes?
Ans: I, being a president of Banking Finance, request all the presidents of the banks that majority of this country is white color and poverty-stricken, there should some incentives amenities for the poor of this homeland.

BM. What message would you like to communicate to the businessmen, educated and professionals of our country?
Ans: First of all we should consider ourselves as Pakistanis. Honestly speaking there should be no caste and distinction in social and moral attitudes. I would request the business community to have some incentives for the poor and white collared of this country. People should come up with high motives and hard work.