In this interview with Mian Anjum Nisar, President FPCCI, we discuss what plans does his business group have to revamp the FPCCI. Anjum is no stranger to business. As one of the largest taxpayers of the country, Anjum Nisar is the Chairman of Nimir Chemicals, and the Chairman Businessmen Panel Group, which has taken over the reins of the FPCCI after five years of rule of the United Business Group. Below are edited transcripts of the interview.

BR Research: Your group has come to power at FPCCI after many years of struggle. What’s the difference between your group and the others?

Mian Anjum Nisar: Prior to 2015, the Businessman Bani group led the FPCCI for the longest time. In 2015 United Business Group came into power and won each year for the last five years. We won because there was a growing dissent among the businessmen that the previous FPCCI leadership was unable speak without fear and favour and instead played it to the power corridors, as a result of which economic and business interests and genuine concerns of the business community suffered. Our group, on the other hand, is not here to please the government.

If the country’s exports are consistently falling for decade, and the cost of doing business is consistently rising, then surely at least some blame must lie on the shoulders of the FPCCI leadership for not being able to use their clout to bring about change. Pakistan was not even able to capitalize on the GSP Plus status.

During all these years, some members of the FPCCI leadership bemoaned that the government does not listen to us. Well, the fact of the matter is that FPCCI leadership, be it our group or any other group, are not elected to make money or shine our own shops. The FPCCI leadership is elected to deliver to the business community; if you don’t know to how raise the concerns of business community to the right quarters or if nobody is listening to you then you should resign and give the mantle of leadership to someone else who can negotiate better with the government and knows the art of strategic engagement.

BRR: Is the government listening to you more, or whether is it listening more to the Pakistan Business Council.

MAN: The reason why the government is increasingly listening to the PBC is because over the last decade the FPCCI has given them the room due of our organizational weaknesses. They are only focused on the industry, that’s what they want to protect. At the FPCCI, we are representing industries but also representing SMEs via small chambers and associations as well as traders and retail shop owners.

BRR: What are the differences in the manifesto of your group versus your predecessors?

MAN: There can hardly be differences in our manifestos; the key lies in execution.

BRR: What then are the differences in your execution strategy?

MAN: Well soon after our group took charge, Covid-19 made its way to Pakistan. That affected our implementation strategy, as lockdowns prevented us from holding meetings and arranging big events. But while most of our offices remained closed because of the lockdown, our key staff and office bearers never took off from work to ensure we at least keep delivering to the needs of the business community. The problems of the business community were mounting because of the lockdown, demurrages, and liquidity crunch, and other problems faced by them needed to be resolved through advocacy and negotiations, which our office bearers and I kept working on during the lockdown.

BRR: Do you think the FPCCI needs constitutional change? Perhaps increase the number of years in office to three years as its President with a strong secretariat?

MAN: I think three years is a long time to work as President FPCCI. People have their own businesses to attend to as well. However, I agree one year is too less. I think it the term of the FPCCI president should be at least two years. The FPCCI is linked to both domestic trade bodies as well international trade bodies. The term at the Indian chamber is also not very long because of these reasons but their institutions and secretariat are very strong.

BRR: What actions are you taking to strengthen the secretariat of the FPCCI?

MAN: All sorts of big and small businessmen make it to the FPCCI leadership who don’t always have the desired level of understanding of the country’s business and economic affairs. This is okay in so far as representation aspect is concerned. However, to be able to lead the FPCCI one needs to understand business, finance, shipping, taxes, banking, transport, energy, and all other sort of affairs to be able to deliver on the needs of the business community. Since all of the FPCCI leadership do not have a strong working background in these affairs, it is important for the FPCCI to have a strong research and development department.

I had planned to strengthen the research and development of the FPCCI. But since corona happened those plans have been postponed. For the last five years, the FPCCI has been working in a very haywire fashion without properly defined job description and institution building. I am working towards changing this.

I am also trying to strengthen the secretariat by signing MoUs with different universities including LUMS and Bahria University, whereby the FPCCI is exploring how to have a research project-based relationship against various remuneration slab. Meanwhile, we have also hired a former FBR official to help FPCCI take quick decisions on taxation affairs.

Because we believe that it is critical for Pakistan to train its commercial attaches in business and economy, I have spoken to the Foreign Minister about this issue, and we are making a proposal where Pakistan’s commercial attaches abroad would facilitate the FPCCI to directly approach buyers in foreign countries and give them a list of top suppliers from Pakistan – a kind of matchmaking exercise.

BRR: What strategic tools do you plan to use to raise FPCCI’s profile?

MAN: Once you sit in the office you have access to the power corridors, be it the PM, FBR chairman or whosoever. We plan to further increase our access to these power corridors and also effectively raise our concerns to them. I believe President FPCCI should get the status of a federal minister, and accordingly given that kind of access to the government machinery to be able to actively participate in business and economic policymaking process.

In India, the PM gives very high importance and privileged access to the President of FICCI, FPCCI’s Indian counterpart. This is the reason why India’s economic and business policies are increasingly business friendly and not anti-business as seems to be the case in the Pakistan for the last ten years. We are also told that one day every month, Bangladeshi PM sits with all the key business stakeholders alongside her economic team and sorts out the problems faced by the business community.

The state needs to realize that gone are the days of conventional war; in today’s day and age it is the economic war, which Pakistan is terribly losing. If Pakistan wants to win this war, then the government must work closely with the apex business body that the FPCCI is.

BRR: Tell us a little more about the matchmaking exercise involving commercial attaches?

MAN: We have initiated a programme to invite commercial attaches to each of our business council meetings that we hold every week. As soon as we start engaging them, we will find out which commercial attaches are efficient and can truly help Pakistan sell new products and explore new markets; and of course, we will highlight both success stories and grey areas to the foreign office here in Pakistan.

For instance, Mexico imports sports goods worth $1.5 billion but our share is only $3 million; it imports $1.3 billion worth of surgical items but Pakistan only exports $1 million to Mexico. Once I was informed of this, we organized a webinar with relevant associations in Pakistan, importers from Mexico and other relevant stakeholder including our commercial attaches in Mexico to understand that market better.

We are also planning to make virtual portal, which would showcase product overview, profile of suppliers, an overview of the factory and other details which foreign buyers can look at and send in their queries. The portal would have companies from across wide range of goods – be it textile or sports goods. We need to expand both the list of products and markets, and we believe that once this portal is online, we can help Pakistan expand the list of export products and export markets.

BRR: How will you rate PTI’s economic performance in the last two years.

MAN: There is no doubt that PTI had inherited an unprecedented mess. Plus, Uncle Sam wasn’t willing to flush us with liquidity as it did during the Afghan War and also post-9/11. It is unfortunate that Pakistani political parties do not have shadow cabinet. If there was a shadow cabinet, then incoming political leadership would have at least some idea of how to manage the affairs. It is also the reason why when PTI took charge it took them a lot of time to learn the ropes of government.

Having said that, I think their performance is not satisfactory. I have noticed that their ministers do not have a coordinated approach towards solving problems. They have managed to increase the number of NTN-holders, but stakeholders have not been engaged to improve tax laws and ensure taxpayer facilitation. Similarly, the agreement signed by Shabbar Zaidi (former FBR chairman) with traders and chain store owners has not been implemented.

Or consider the fact that over the last many years, Pakistan has already lost its market share in Afghanistan to Iran. Truck freights for trade with Afghanistan have increased; so has the wait time at border customs. But at the time of Covid-19, Islamabad decided to stop trade with Afghanistan, whereas Iran did not. Naturally, this will lead to further erosion of Pakistan’s market share in Afghanistan. Even the revised-FTA with China does not address some of the key concerns.

Or take the case of Karachi. Export industry is not viable in Lahore because of the additional $40-50 freight costs that we have incur. However, the price of industrial real estate in Karachi is astronomically high that kills the incentive to invest in Karachi; poor infrastructure and water clogging issue is another affair. Neither the federal government nor provincial government have the will to set up industrial estates in Karachi.

BRR: What specific concerns are those? Can you please list them because many of the concerns of the wider business community have already been addressed in the recent FTA revision?

MAN: The list would be too long to share but one can say that the revised FTA has given access to China on 70 percent tariff line either at reduced rates or at gradually reduced rates. On the whole, one can say that even the revised FTA fails to protect our local industry as per the provisions of WTO. I believe the industry should be protected up to a certain level but not beyond that. Perhaps 8-10 percent of tariff protection is adequate protection. Even today borrowing rates in Pakistan are higher than Bangladesh and India, and when electricity prices in the country are about twice the cost in the region then which foreign investor will come to invest in your country and how can local industrialists compete with exporters from in the international market. The point being that these FTA/PTA are a failure because they were not made while keeping Pakistan’s ground realities in mind.