Profit issue-09

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8 Weekly Roundup 12 After a stellar entrepreneurial run, TRG is Zia Chishti’s swan song

16 16 Pakistan’s most only powerful women in business 18 Profit’s power list of women in business

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32 Make your own sandwich!

35 Return of the Stay-at-Home-Mom - Part 2 Ayesha Aziz 37 Empowered woman is well grounded in heer roots, culture

39 39 Try try again 42 Big bucks but mediocre results 44 Marketing Pakistan 49 Our trade strategy Dr. Kamal Monnoo

Managing Editor: Babar Nizami l Joint Editor: Yousaf Nizami l Contributing Editor: Farooq Tirmizi l Sub Editor: Fatima Farooq Editor Reporting: Farooq Baloch l Reporters Karachi: Aisha Arshad l Arshad Hussain & Usman Hanif Reporters Lahore: Syeda Masooma & Abbas Naqvi l Reporters Islamabad: Nida Jaffery l Ahmed Ahmedani & Amir Sial Director Marketing: Zahid Ali l Regional Heads of Marketing: Muddasir Alam (Khi) l Zulfiqar Butt (Lhr) l Mudassir Iqbal (Isl) Design & Layout: Rizwan Ahmad l Illustrator: ZEB Photographers: Zubair Mehfooz & Imran Gillani Publishing Editor: Arif Nizami Contact: profit@pakistantoday.com.pk

CONTENTS

“Pakistan’s energy crisis and environmental challenges can be overcome by using green technologies” Chairman PIAF, Irfan Iqbal Sheikh

QUOTE

BRIEFING

“Improvement is visible, but we have to do more to attract and facilitate local as well as foreign investors ” Board of investment chairman Dr Miftah Ismail

Rs 910

for 11.8kg domestic cylinder is the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) set by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). Ogra has ignored the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources’ proposal on the price of LPG. The ministry estimated the maximum consumer price at Rs93,500 per ton, or Rs1,100 per 11.8kg cylinder, including the base stock price at Rs59,190, general sales tax at 17% and marketing and distribution margins at Rs20,724. Ogra however noted that local LPG producers did not have their own set of parameters to compute the price.

Therefore, the average of past three-month Saudi Aramco contract price, which came in at Rs45,276 per ton, may be considered relevant for determining the LPG price for February 2017. Reacting to Ogra’s move, LPG Distributors Association Chairman Irfan Khokhar rejected the new price, describing it as an act that would destroy the industry.

20% of PSX shares will be offered to the general public at a price higher than the one at which it sold 40% stake to strategic Chinese partners in December 2016. The PSX sold 320 million shares, amounting to a 40% stake, to a Chinese consortium at Rs28 per share through competitive bidding, translating into a sum of approximately $85 million. The book building process will be conducted to sell the shares, a process that allows share issuers to find a ‘strike sale price’ through open bidding from high net worth investors. The offer to the general public is part of PSX’s divestment process segregating management of the stock market from brokerage firms. The 40% sale to the Chinese Consortium mean they, through their nominee directors on the board, would have the right to nominate people for the posts of chief executive, chief financial officer and chief regulatory officer of PSX.

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12.5% tax on dividend is the exemption granted to a Chinese firm by the Economic Coordination Committee(ECC).

The request was sent by the Ministry of Finance to exempt withholding tax on dividends from the $1.76 billion Matiari-Lahore transmission line project. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Dr Mohammad Irshad opposed the waiving of 12.5% withholding tax on the dividend income of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), which was building the transmission line, said sources after the ECC meeting. They were simply overruled. Rough estimates suggest so far over Rs160 billion or $1.5 billion worth of tax exemptions have been given to CPEC-related projects, according to FBR sources.

BRIEFING

is what every Pakistani owes a s the pile of debt and liabilities has reached Rs 2,314,000 crore. That is a year-on-year increase of 10% as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). External debt and liabilities stood at roughly $74 billion. Consequently Foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP have come down to $17 billion and the current account deficit has widened by 90% in the first seven months (Jul-Jan) of 2016-17, standing at $4.72 billio. The current account deficit is likely to hit the $7-8 billion mark this fiscal year and debt servicing requirements will add to the pressure on the country’s reserves.

Rs 115,000

cash margin has been imposed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on the import of a number of consumer items to bridge an alarmingly high trade deficit that is eating up foreign exchange reserves. The requirement of 100pc cash margin has been prescribed on items such as motor vehicles — both completely knocked down and completely built units — mobile phones, cigarettes, jewellery, cosmetics, personal care, electrical and home appliances, arms and ammunitions etc. Imports of motor vehicles and their parts in 2015-16 rose to $1.263 billion. Their imports grew over 40pc to $1.018bn year-on-year in the first seven months of 2016-17. Foreign exchange reserves of the country have been falling since October 2016. They fell to $21.9bn by the middle of this month from $24bn in October 2016. “The SBP expects that this regulatory measure would help accommodate incremental import of growth-inducing capital goods,” the central bank said.

100%

will be invested by Nishat Mills Limited (NML) in MCB to bank to increase it equity shareholding. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has approved the investment. According to SBP’s approval, NML is allowed an investment in the shares of MCB Bank up to a shareholding of 8.03 pc. As of February 13, NML holds 85.645 m shares in MCB Bank Limited with 7.69 pc stake. A document said the NML’s board approved long-term equity investment of Rs1.213 by way of purchasing up to 3.731m shares in MCB Bank, an associated company at the prevailing market price but not exceeding Rs325/share. Besides, NML also plans to invest Rs150 crore in its subsidiary company Nishat Power Limited (NPL) in the form of working capital loan. The NML’s directors have started necessary due diligence for the proposed investments, according to the documents.

Rs 270 crore

from the gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC) has been earmarked for the implementation of the Gwadar liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline project. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) held on February 13. So far only Rs 18, 300 crore has been received on account of GIDC meant for spending on different gas pipeline projects. The delay had been caused due to the government’s inability to push the Gwadar project under the CPEC framework. A framework agreement was signed between Pakistan and China on April 20, 2015 for developing the LNG terminal and pipeline project. Under the arrangement, China will provide 85% of financing whereas Pakistan will contribute 15% of equity.

Rs2,500 crore

megawatts will be added to the national grid by the end of 2018 when the Thar coal-based power plants, comprising four units of 330 MW each will come online. The project will cost $2.1 billion. Depending on the availability of coal from the Thar field, at least one unit will be operational by December 2018. The project is under CPEC with the Sindh Government as the main sponsor. Around 1.57 billion tons of exploitable coal reserves in block-II, which constitute 1% of total coal deposits in the country, could be used to produce 5,000 megawatts of electricity for 50 years. The coal mining project for the power plant will cost $845 million. It is expected that by 2021 five more coal-fired power plants would be set up in the area with the potential of raising around 3,000 MW

1,320

Rs 3,000 crore was the profit reported by Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in two-quarters of the current fiscal year. It also won the corporate philanthropy award for spending under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) recently. The company’s net sales revenue was registered at Rs 81.081b and profit after tax stood at Rs 30.008b, translating into earnings per share of Rs 6.98 in the half year ending December 31, 2016. Commenting on CSR activities of OGDCL, the sources said the company was declared first largest corporate giver by volume of donation at the corporate philanthropy award hosted by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy here. The company received the award for 12th consecutive year in the same category.

BRIEFING

journey

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By: Farooq Tirmizi

AT 29, CHISHTI HAD A NET WORTH OF $23 MILLION. PEOPLE MAGAZINE NOTICED THE HANDSOME YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR AND LISTED HIM AS ONE OF “AMERICA’S TOP 50 BACHELORS” IN JULY 2001, IN A YEAR WHEN THE LIST INCLUDED ACTORS BEN AFFLECK, MATT DAMON, BENICIO DEL TORO, AND JOSH HARTNETT

he first thing you notice when you walk into Zia Chishti’s office in Washington DC is that you can see the White House from his window.

And the first thought that occurs to you is: “what a strange choice of location for the headquarters of a call-center company.” And if you mention that to Mr Chishti, he will want to correct you: TRG Pakistan is not a call-center company.

As he likes to explain it, TRG is a venture capital company focused on making acquisitions and investments in the business process outsourcing and related industries. “Our job is to be good stewards of capital, not managers of companies.”

That may be just as well, because if TRG is a company, it is one that is very difficult to make sense of unless you know the life of the people who founded it. The company is headquartered in Washington DC, is publicly listed in Pakistan, has subsidiaries that are publicly listed in London, and has the highest proportion of its employees based in the Philippines. How does any of that make sense? Well, you have to know Zia Chisti’s life story. And perhaps the most important detail to start with about Zia Chishti’s life is that he was not born Zia Chishti.

Born in 1971 in the US state of Maine to an American father and a Pakistani mother, his name at birth was Wilson Lear. When his father died in 1974, Chishti’s mother moved back to Pakistan and changed his name so that he would not stand out in Lahori society. Chishti’s father had been an American convert to Islam and was intimately familiar enough with Pakistan to request burial near a Sufi saint’s shrine in Faisalabad, but Saadia Chishti, who has a PhD in education from Cornell University, still wanted to make sure that her son would not be seen as “foreign” in Lahore.

But despite the name change, the American side of Zia never really went away. It helped that he went to Lahore American School, and then went off to college to Columbia University in New York. And it probably helped that his life in America really was the American dream. There are probably few people who have had as charmed a run of their 20s as Zia Chishti.

After graduating from Columbia, Chishti was able to land a job as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, one of the most prestigious names on Wall Street, working in both New York and London before leaving to attend Stanford Business School. At Stanford, he got the idea to fix what was probably the only thing

wrong with his appearance: his teeth. He came up with the idea of using transparent aligners instead of braces to help straighten his teeth, and in doing so, inventing a way for others to straighten theirs.

Since Chishti was at Stanford from 1995 to 1997, the heyday of the first Silicon Valley bubble, getting funding for an orthodontic technology for an inventor who was not an orthodontist was a realistic possibility. And Chishti landed what is arguably the biggest venture capital investing name of them all: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. If you have not heard of them, you may have heard of some of their other investments: Amazon, Electronic Arts, and Google.

The new company, called Align Technology, was able to raise over $140 million in venture capital in its first three years in existence, giving it the kind of war chest it needed to begin aggressively developing and marketing its product in the US market. And its aggressive growth strategy got noticed: the company was the subject of a feature story on the front page of The New York Times in August 2000.

By January 2001, Align Technology was successful enough to be listed on the NASDAQ at a valuation just north of $1 billion. At 29, Chishti had a net worth of $23 million. People magazine noticed the handsome young entrepreneur and listed him as one of “America’s Top 50 Bachelors” in July 2001, in a year when the list included actors Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Hartnett.

MARKETS

Of course, nobody’s luck can run forever, and Chishti also faced his share of difficulties. A dispute with his investors led to Chishti’s ouster from Align Technology in 2003. When asked by Profit to comment on the causes of the dispute, Chishti declined to comment.

Media accounts from the time suggest that at least part of the disagreement may have been over corporate strategy, specifically the aggressive direct consumer advertising campaign designed to make US consumers aware of the technology and seek it out, rather than simply focusing on having dentists and orthodontists recommend it to their patients, which was the more common method of marketing dental and orthodontic products at the time. Under Chishti, Align Technology had been spending the equivalent of 100% of its revenues in marketing. After his ouster, his successor cut the marketing budget by two-thirds.

In previous media interviews, Chishti has indicated that some of the disagreement arose after 9/11, when American investors began questioning his decision to have much of Align Technology’s support function offices located in Pakistan. After his ouster from Align, it was those back offices, specifically the call centers, that became the foundation of TRG. Perhaps it was because he had gotten used to being the CEO of a publicly listed company, or perhaps because he thought it was a good place to raise capital, Chishti listed TRG almost immediately on the thenKarachi Stock Exchange (renamed Pakistan Stock Exchange in 2016) in July 2003.

Yet even while he began to build out the company in Pakistan, Chishti never quite fully moved back to the country, retaining a headquarters for the company in the US. And it seems he took some time to get over losing control of the $1-billion, NASDAQ-listed company he founded in business school. In 2005, for instance, he created a rival company called OrthoClear,

“SO KHAISHGI SAID TO THE TWO OF US, BOTH OF WHOM WERE BACHELORS AT THE TIME: WOULD YOU GUYS MIND IF WE HEADQUARTER THE COMPANY IN DC? AND WE SAID YES, NOT REALLY THINKING MUCH OF IT AT THE TIME, BUT MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT MORE ABOUT IT” Zia Chishti

and engaged in a year-long legal battle with Align Technology that culminated in $20 million settlement paid to OrthoClear by Align. After that settlement, it appears that Chishti returned to having his focus on TRG. His cofounders have similar educational pedigree and appear to share his desire to be Pakistani entrepreneurs running a global business out of the United States, but retaining strong ties to Pakistan. Hasnain Aslam, the chief investment officer, is an Aitchisonian who went to Harvard University for his undergraduate degree and worked as an investment banker at JPMorgan before joining Align Technology and then leaving with Chishti to join TRG. Mohammad Khaishgi is a Rhodes Scholar who finished a politics, philosophy, and economics degree at Oxford University before

BORN IN 1971 IN THE US STATE OF MAINE TO AN AMERICAN FATHER AND A PAKISTANI MOTHER, HIS NAME AT BIRTH WAS WILSON LEAR. WHEN HIS FATHER DIED IN 1974, CHISHTI’S MOTHER MOVED BACK TO PAKISTAN AND CHANGED HIS NAME SO THAT HE WOULD NOT STAND OUT IN LAHORI SOCIETY 14

going on to do his MBA at Harvard Business School.

Incidentally, Khaishgi, or more specifically his wife, is the reason the company is headquartered in Washington DC. After she completed an MBA from Harvard in 2003, Mrs Khaishgi had several job offers, but liked the one based in Washington DC the best. “So Khaishgi said to the two of us, both of whom were bachelors at the time: would you guys mind if we headquarter the company in DC? And we said yes, not really thinking much of it at the time, but maybe we should have thought more about it,” said Chishti.

TRG Pakistan has evolved from being the only operating company that formed the entirety of TRG’s operations to becoming the global holding company for all of TRG’s investments. It does so largely through a 57% stake in TRG International, a British Virgin Islands-incorporated holding company that in turn owns stakes in most of TRG’s subsidiaries.

The ownership structure of TRG is highly complex and consists of several layers of holding companies. TRG Pakistan is the overall holding company, but it does not own the entirety of TRG International, which in turn does not necessarily own the

entirety of the shares in its portfolio companies. At each stage, there are minority investors who own significant stakes, which makes it difficult to track exactly how much the overall portfolio is worth, and how much of it is owned by the shareholders of the publicly listed company on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Chishti understands the confusion, and so he offered a simpler way of thinking about the company. “The total value of our portfolio companies is more than $1 billion,” he said. “Of that amount, just over 49% is owned by the shareholders of TRG Pakistan.”

The majority of the portfolio companies are in the business process outsourcing (BPO) space, and approximately 86.7% of the Rs30.6 billion in revenues derived from the portfolio companies in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 comes from IBEX Global, a call-center company with operations around the world.

But both in person as well as in the company’s written communications with the media, Chishti likes talking about Afiniti, a company that develops artificial intelligence software that is designed to help companies improve the efficiency of their business

processes, specifically their call center operations. TRG’s investment in Afiniti started in 2005 as a seed investment into a company that was developing a solution that TRG felt its portfolio companies would be able to use. Over time, it morphed into a business in its own right.

And it is not hard to see why Afiniti gets the bulk of the attention: it is a rapidly growing business in an area of technology that can truly be described as cutting edge.

Afiniti only registered Rs1,860 million in revenue in fiscal 2016, but that represents an 80% increase over the past year. Chishti says Afiniti is close to being cash flow positive and will likely hit that target by the end of the current financial year in June, approximately six months behind schedule.

“Back when Afiniti started in 2005, we were the lone wolf in the big data space,” said Chisti. “People thought what we were trying to do was crazy.”

The company now counts amongst its clients T-Mobile USA, the third largest mobile phone company in the United States, as well as UnitedHealthCare, the largest insurance company in the US. Its technology is promising enough for McKinsey & Company, the prestigious global strategy con-

AND CHISHTI LANDED WHAT IS ARGUABLY THE BIGGEST VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTING NAME OF THEM ALL: KLEINER PERKINS CAUFIELD & BYERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT HEARD OF THEM, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF SOME OF THEIR OTHER INVESTMENTS: AMAZON, ELECTRONIC ARTS, AND GOOGLE.

sulting firm, to make Afiniti one of its only two direct equity investments.

It is the rumours for the initial public offering of Afiniti that have caused by 123% over the past twelve months, closing at Rs 58.07 per share on Thursday. TRG Pakistan’s shareholders now include several brokerage firms in the country, including Jahangir Siddiqui & Company.

Chishti declined to comment directly on whether those rumours were true, but he did confirm that TRG is in the process of seeking to sell its stakes in all of its portfolio companies so that it can convert its initial investors’ holdings to cash to return to them. Some of TRG International’s other investors include venture capital funds, such as Pinebridge, a London-based company that was founded by former AIG investment professionals.

He anticipates that the process will take up to two years, and may include some combination of public listings for its portfolio companies and sales to strategic investors.

Should TRG be able to sell its portfolio companies for the amount it says they are currently worth, that would imply that the value of TRG Pakistan should be somewhere around Rs95 per share, or approximately a 63% premium from Thursday’s closing price.

As for Chishti, once he is done supervising the sale of the portfolio, he plans to retire from his entrepreneurial life and return to Pakistan to focus on philanthropic activities. This asset sale, in short, is the swan song of his entrepreneurial career. n

MARKETS

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W

and it is mo re.

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FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR

By: Aisha Arshad

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Additional Reporting by Farooq Baloch

ife of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri is probably even more successful than her husband - predominantly known for her own endeavors. Chairperson of Beaconhouse Group, Pakistan’s largest private school network, Kasuri is a well known name in the private education sector of the country - it is safe to say she pioneered the business of education in Pakistan.

It was 1975 when Nasreen Mehmud Kasuri’s sons had to enroll in a school. Looking around in Lahore, the mother – who was herself a graduate of Kinnaird College – found out that there were very limited options for her children’s good schooling.

The mother took up the mission to give quality education to not only her children but also others. She then set up Les Anges Montessori which was in fact the founding

stone of Pakistan’s private education sector.

With presence in 21 cities of Pakistan and 9 countries globally Beaconhouse School System (BSS) is spread as far as U.K, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, the UAE and Oman. The management has adopted various international schools in the country and now runs them under BSS. Under the administration of Beaconhouse Group, Kasuri set up The Educators in 2002. With a total of 800 branches, the extended chain of schools is a variant for the middle income group in Pakistan. Currently as many as 247,000 students are provided with quality education in the flagship Beachouse School and The Educators combined.

In 2003, Kasuri established Beaconhouse National University in Lahore – the first Liberal Arts University of Pakistan offering undergraduate and graduate programs in various fields Visual Arts, Architecture, Psychology, Journalism and Media Studies to name a few.

Kasuri did her Bachelors in Applied Psychology and History from Kinnaird College,

From management

trainee to leadership of a multinational giant, a journey few complete

Shazia Syed Chief Executive Officer, Unilever Pakistan

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Lahore. She then went to Punjab University to complete her postgraduate in Child Psychology. Later on she did her MBA and received a joint degree from the New York University (USA), London School of Economics (UK) and Hautes Etudes Commerciales: HEC (France).

Currently she serves as the head of BSS where approximately 13,000 staff members – out of which 7,400 are teachers – are affiliated. Being a vocal advocate for women empowerment, Kasuri has ensured female representation in her staff where almost 62 percent of the staff is female with major representation in the upper management.

For her services to the international Pakistani community, Kasuri was awarded with the ‘Woman Power 100 award’ in London (2012). Pakistan Power 100 is an event that recognizes and honors the contributions of influential Pakistanis within the international Pakistani community. She has also been awarded with ‘Sitara e Eisaar’ from the Government of Pakistan in 2006 for her philanthropic work.

Pioneering

the business of education

Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri Chairperson, Beaconhouse Group

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o quote her bio on the company profile, Shazia Syed is a mother of two and enjoys golf – a sport not many women are fond of. However Syed, like her interests in sports, has proven time and again that she can defy all gender norms. One such task is heading the Pakistani arm of the world’s largest consumer goods and foods giant Unilever. Syed is the Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Pakistan, which market sources say currently has more than Rs8,500 crore in sales.

In short, there is hardly any household in Pakistan, which doesn’t consume one of the products that come out of their factories, such is the influence of the company she heads in the lives of Pakistanis.

After completing her MBA from Clayton University, U.S, Syed joined Unilever in 1989 as a Management Trainee. In her 26 year tenure at the global FMCG giant, Syed has

worked in almost all departments and divisions of the company such as Customer Development and Home & Personal Care to name a few.

Currently serving as the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, Syed has represented her company in various parts of the world. From working as Business Unit Leader in Vietnam (2000-2003) to working as the Chairperson of Unilever Sri Lanka (2013 till 2016), Syed has worked her way up in the company.

On her return to Pakistan in 2009 Syed was commissioned in the Ice Cream Business for a brief period of one year.

She joined the Board of Directors of Unilever in April 2014 and later got appointed as CEO Unilever Pakistan in November, 2015. In March 2016, Syed was given additional charge as the CEO of Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited – a listed subsidiary of Unilever Pakistan in Pakistan Stock Exchange.

COVER STORY

1,700 branches and counting: The woman behind Pakistan’s largest banking network

Sima Kamil Head, Branch Banking, Habib Bank Limited

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H

eading important departments, such as corporate finance, investment banking and branch banking and that, too, of Habib Bank Limited, Pakistan’s largest bank is no small feat – HBL has Rs2.4 trillion worth of assets on its balance sheet at the end of 2016, the year in which it booked Rs32 billion in profit. It becomes even more significant when the person who has this privilege is a woman.

Meet Sima Kamil, a highly respected female banker who is the head of HBL’s Branch Banking since 2011.

Kamil is overseeing 1,700-strong branch network of HBL, dealing in Retail, Consumer, SME, Rural Banking and Wealth Management. One can hardly find any women holding top positions in large financial firms and we will not be surprised if Kamil becomes the first female to head a large bank.

Supervising the largest bank branch network in the country alone makes her one of our top picks for the

most powerful women in business.

Under Kamil’s tenure, HBL’s branch network soured to 1,677 at the end of 2016, up by more than 14% compared to 1,464 of 2011, the year she joined.

Kamil also leads the development and launch of HBL’s Women’s Market Program, which aims to emerge HBL as the leading bank for women in Pakistan. She is also a keen participant in the education sector of the country. Currently serving as Chair of the Board of Governors of Karachi Grammar School and Board Member of the Notre Dame Institute of Education.

Kamil, who holds an MBA from City University, London, is one of the most experienced bankers in Pakistan with 25 years of experience, a clear indication that she ventured into banking and finance at a time when the country’s financial services sector was only men’s profession. She was previously associated with American Express Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

Her past assignments also include HBL’s overseas segments. Currently Kamil also serves as Director of HBL Asset Management Company Limited.

The Empress of the entertainment industry

Sultana Siddiqui President, Hum Network Limited

S

ultana Siddiqui has not had the easiest run in life. From getting married right after University to the end of her marriage. But she learned from her experiences and years after the end of her marriage she went on to become the first woman in Asia to own a television network, which earned Rs 400 crore in annual revenues and booked Rs 5.37 crore in net profit for the current year.

Famously known has ‘Sultana Apa’ among her industry fellows, Siddiqui was born to the Qazi family of Hyderabad, the same city which is the hometown of her brother, business tycoon Jahangir Siddiqui.

Seventh among her 10 siblings, Siddiqui attended government schools of Hyderabad. After finishing her matriculate, she went to study Comparative Religion and attained an Honor’s degree.

After her marriage ended she returned to her parent’s home seven years later with her three sons Shunaid, Junaid and Duraid. This was the time Sultana Siddiqui headed out to make a career of her own and thus began the journey of one of the most successful business women in Pakistan.

Currently serving as a member of Board of Directors and President of Hum Network Limited – which has generated over Rs1,600 crore in the last five years – Siddiqui began her career as a television producer for Pakistan Television Network (PTV) some four decades ago.

She was introduced to television industry by her university senior Abdul Karim Baloch who – knowing

her capabilities – offered her a hosting gig of a Sindhi show he was producing. Although Siddiqui did hosting and acting in a few programs she did not feel it was her true calling.

Later in 1974, Baloch encouraged Siddiqui to apply for the vacant position of producer in PTV. She got selected by the state-owned television and her behind the scene career as a producer and director began.

It is pertinent to mention here that Siddiqui was the producer to discover famous artists Sakina Sammoo, Mahnoor Baloch and brought Abida Parveen to our television screens for the firts time.

After working for various projects in other production houses, Siddiqui found her own production house in 1996 by the name of Moomal Productions. In January 2005, Siddiqui launched her television network under the name of Eye Television Network. The same was renamed as Hum Network Limited in 2011.

As of today, under the Hum umbrella, three channels are operating: Hum TV (entertainment), Masala TV (food channel) and Hum Sitarey (entertainment and lifestyle). Hum TV soap operas enjoy the highest TV ratings for primetime hours, according to rating providers. The company also owns three magazine publications by the name of Newsline, Glam Magazine and Masala Food Magazine.

For her services to the media industry, Siddiqui was awarded with the Pride of Pakistan award in 2008 by the Government of Pakistan. Her television network on the other hand was ranked among the top 25 companies of Pakistan Stock Exchange in 2010.

COVER STORY

Fashionistas

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akistan’s fashion and apparel industry knows far too many women who have made it big in the industry. However, there a few that have helped the industry grow. A case in point is Naz Mansha, CEO Nishat Linen and the famous duo of Sana Hashwani and Safinaz Muneer, better known for their brand Sana Safinaz. These female entrepreneurs – belonging to affluent families – started out in the fashion industry at the same time in 1989.

Naz Mansha – wife of business magnate Mian Mansha – began her startup named Nishat Linen (NL) which provided beddings and housewares on a small scale. On the other hand, Hashwani and Muneer, then newly-married sisters-in-law, began their journey with bridal and formal wears.

This was the time when Pakistan’s fashion industry was almost non-existent and these women intending to pursue their passions were changing the course of the fashion industry. In a matter of years both Sana Safinaz and Nishat Linen had transformed into big brands while the industry was trying to keep up.

In 1994, Naz Mansha included lawn in her company’s offering; this was the same time when the first NL store opened up. Today with as many as 70

stores nationwide and presence in U.A.E, U.S.A, Canada and Saudi Arabia, NL is ranked amongst the top apparel brands of the country. Naz Mansha – now a grandmother – also launched Inglot and Swarovski cosmetics in Pakistan. Her flagship, Nishat Linen now proudly deals in bedding, lawn, pret and formal wears under her leadership.

Hashwani and Muneer on the other hand have spread their brand’s wings quite drastically. After venturing out with bridal wear, the duo started to design lawn prints for big textile companies to be sold by their retail arms.

However, in 2010, Sana Safinaz own lawn collection was launched which further diversified into pret wear in 2012.

As of today, the designers cum CEOs have added interior designing to their portfolio.

Today, when the fashion apparel industry is one of the largest in the country, these women are able to strive against the growing competition on the basis of their 25 year experience and particularly innovation – the very basis of their ventures.

Sana Hashwani & Safinaz Muneer Owners, Sana Safinaz

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Naz Mansha Owner Nishat Linen

Bloomberg’s

‘Most Amazing Money Manager’

Maheen Rahman Chief Executive, Alfalah GHP Investment Management’ Chief Executive

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ccording to a research by Profit – details published in another article – not many women in Pakistan dare to choose otherwise maledominated professions, such as banking and finance, and even fewer make it to the top. It is for this reason that no list of such women can be complete without mentioning Alfalah GHP Investment Management’ Chief Executive Maheen Rahman that Bloomberg recognizes as ‘Pakistan’s Most Amazing Money Manager’.

Yes, you read that right: ruling out chief executives – all of them men – from 21 asset management companies, Bloomberg gave this honorary title to Rahman, making her a natural pick for Profit’s first-ever list of the country’s most powerful women in business.

The 40-year-old and mother of three holds the distinction of being the youngest and only female CEO of an asset management company in Pakistan for 2015, according to Bloomberg – she was overseeing $180 million worth of assets in stocks and bonds that year.

Rahman’s career spans over seventeen years in investment banking, research and asset management. Her initial attachments include Merrill Lynch, ABN Amro Bank and BMA Capital Management. What brought her name to limelight was her performance as money manager of IGI Funds, which she joined in 2009 as its Chief Executive.

Rahman was able to double the assets in her first year as the head of the firm, turning the loss-making entity back to profits and sequentially leading it to a 15% return on equity. Total assets under management (AUM) grew by more than 200% over the course of her tenure.

In 2013, Alfalah Investments acquired IGI Funds, selecting Rahman as Chief Executive of the combined entity. In the three years since the acquisition, Alfalah Investments has grown at a 45% Compound Annual Growth Rate in terms of AUM, seen three management quality rating upgrades and consistently placed top in

fund performance – earning notable coverage from local and international media including Bloomberg, Fortune and the BBC. “Investors who bet on Rahman have been rewarded with a 443% return from her IGI Stock Fund since its inception seven years ago, 117 percentage points more than the benchmark index and the biggest gain among 34 peers tracked by Bloomberg,” Naween Mangi wrote in an article published on March 20, 2015.

An Economics major from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Rahman – who did her M.Sc. Finance and Economics from Warwick Business School, UK – was featured on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 Top Ten Women to Watch for 2015.

Besides being Vice Chairman and Director of the Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan, the trade body that represents all asset managers, distributors and mutual funds in Pakistan, Rahman is a member of the Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Executive Committee.

“My biggest challenge has been building a reputation and trust in a market that values grey hair and being male,” Rahman said an interview with Bloomberg.

“After all these years, I still routinely get asked why I don’t just design clothes.”

COVER STORY

Entrepreneur or philanthropist? an inspiration for all women

Seema Aziz Managing Director, Sefam Private Limited

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t was 1985 when Seema Aziz, then 34, ventured out to start a business despite being married and ‘settled’ as a housewife. Today her startup which she started with her brother, her father’s two Swiss manufactured embroidery machines and no formal training is known as Bareeze – a high-end fashion retail brand. A graduate of Punjab University in Sciences and an LLB, Aziz was married off to a chemical engineer. It was in 1985 when she saw the demand for high end clothing among the masses and popularity of western clothing on the basis of its quality. Aziz and her brother ventured out to produce imported quality garments in the local market and Bareeze was launched.

A few years down the line Aziz had made a market for her apparel brand. At the time, customers regarded Bareeze as an ‘imported brand sold with a local tag’.

It was then in 1988 when Aziz’s philanthropic journey began. Having a factory of Bareeze in a nearby village of Lahore, Aziz visited the place immediately after the flood crisis. It was upon reaching there she conceived the ultimate goal of her life – to educate the underprivileged of the society.

Aziz concentrated her efforts towards the newly found mission and in January 1991, CARE (Cooperation for Advancement, Rehabilitation and Education) Foundation’s first school opened in Sheikhupura with a total of 250 children from underprivileged background.

As of today CARE Foundation operates as many as 256 schools – many in rural areas – and over 160,000 students are enrolled in what makes up the world’s second largest school system.

On the other hand, Aziz’s brand Bareeze has now expanded into four major retail brands namely Chinyere, Kayseria, Leisure Club and Minnie Minors for children. With as many as 190 retail outlets worldwide (including U.A.E, India, U.K and Malaysia) and over 5,000 employees, Bareeze is contributing its 1.3 percent sales proceeds to CARE Foundation’s endeavors. On the personal front, Aziz currently serves on the boards of Pakistan Fashion Design Council and the Punjab Education Foundation. In addition to her law degree Seema also attended OPM (Owner/President Management) program from Harvard Business School. In 2016, Aziz was awarded with Barclays UK’s Women of The Year Award.

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W Taming the big boys

Vadiyya Khalil Chairperson, Competition Commission of Pakistan

hen using the word ‘powerful women’ in the context of business, there are very few names that justify it and Vadiyya Khalil, Chairperson of Competition Commission of Pakistan, is one such name. A Management Sciences degree holder from University of Kent, U.K, Khalil was appointed as the Chairperson of CCP in December 2014.

Under her tenure, Global Competition Review revised CCP’s rating to 3 in 2016, an upgrade from 2.5 -- GCR is a leading competition law and policy journal and news service for 10,000 competition professionals worldwide.

However, that upgrade didn’t come without some solid performance by CCP. Khalil has been able to tame business giants, the likes of state-owned petroleum giant PSO, the real estate giant Bahria Town, and multinationals like Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan, and Nestle Pakistan, to name a few that were either warned or fined for violating the Commission's rules.

Six months into her tenure, Khalil issued a show cause notice to Nestle Pakistan for increasing the prices of its products Lactogen and Cerelac without any business justification. Two months later, on August 12, 2015, the CCP under Khalil’s command, imposed a fine of Rs1.25 Million on Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan Limited for running a deceptive television commercial for its household cleaning product, ‘Dettol Surface Cleaner‘. Another Rs100 million and Rs150 million fine was imposed on Pakistan Poultry Association and Pakistan State Oil respectively by the CCP during last year for malpractice.

CCP also issued a notice to the real estate giant Bahria Town for abusing its position to favor PTCL and not allowing Nayatel to provide CIT services (internet and cable) in Bahria Town, Rawalpindi.

Making it to the chairmanship of the apex consumer watchdog for anti-competitive practices is no small feat, but holding powerful positions is not something new to Khalil. In her over 20 year career, Khalil has held many important positions in various financial and corporate sectors’ institutions. From working in international banks such as Credit Agricole, ANZ and Grindlays to serving local banks such as National Bank of Pakistan, Muslim Commercial Bank Limited and Askari Commercial Bank, Khalil has been affiliated with top organizations in the sector.

Before her appointment as the Chairperson of CCP, Khalil served as the Commission’s Member for Mergers and Acquisitions and Advocacy from 2010-2013.

Apart from her professional experience and educational background, Khalil has also attained a Diploma in French from Alliance Françoise and studied Italian Language and Literature at University of Perugia, Italy. Her ongoing professional education is mainly focused on Leadership, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Corporate Financial Statements.

After successful completion of their roadshows on Competition Law -- 40 seminars in 22 cities during 2015 -- for the business community, she is now taking her awareness campaign a step further: CCP will now be holding academic road shows in 35 universities across Pakistan.

COVER STORY

It’s Chairperson

The social

not Chairman

entrepreneur

Musharaf Hai

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raduate of the Wharton Business School in Bachelors of Sciences and holder of a Master’s degree in Development Economics from Yale University, USA, Roshaneh Zafar is famously known as the Founder and Managing Director of Kashf Foundation – the first specialized microfinance organization of Pakistan. The youngest among her four siblings, she is the daughter of Senator S.M. Zafar – Pakistan’s renowned human rights activist and constitutional lawyer. Her maternal grandmother was the famous singer Malika Pukhraj.

After completing her education, Zafar started working for the World Bank as a ‘Women-in-development associate’ in the water and sanitation sectors. It was in the early 90s when Zafar – then working for World Bank – attended a conference and met Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning microfinance company of Bangladesh.

This was where Zafar got inspiration and a $10,000 loan from Dr. Yunus to set up Kashf Foundation in Pakistan. In 1996, Zafar laid the foundation for what became Pakistan’s first specialized microfinance organization with her 5 all-women team.

After enabling multiple women entrepreneurs in Pakistani society,

Managing Director, L’Oreal

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usharaf Hai is famously known as the first ever woman and second Pakistani to be appointed as Chairperson of Unilever Pakistan in 2001. Back then most Pakistani’s were not acquainted with the term Chairperson and had a difficult time correcting themselves when formally addressing Ms.Hai.Graduate of London School of Economics and Boston University, Hai joined Unilever Pakistan in 1983 in the company’s marketing department. Climbing up the corporate ladder with her hard work, Hai was then moved to Unilever Headquarters in London where she worked from 1993-1996. After coming back to Pakistan she was appointed as head of Unilever’s ice-cream division from where she further got promoted to the position of Sales Director. It was then in 2001, Hai was given the charge as CEO and Chairperson of the international FMCG giant’s Pakistani subsidiary. After serving at CitiBank for 10 months, Hai decided to switch back to her consumer goods domain.

She then worked towards launching L’Oreal -- world’s largest cosmetic company -- in Pakistan. In 2011 she launched L’Oreal Pakistan and currently serves as the Managing Director of the cosmetic company which holds 10 percent share of the local cosmetic market.

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The ‘Big Bird’ of Pakistan’s IT sector

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hen one mentions P@SHA, the Pakistan Software Houses Association, the name Jehan Ara is the first to come to the mind. Jehan Ara is President of P@SHA – an IT and software houses association – and The Nest i/o incubator.

Though Pakistan’s IT sector -- about $2-3 billion in size -- is still in its infancy and the country has yet to produce a billion-dollar startup, the influence and efforts of this lady are no secret to those associated with the IT industry.

Born in Karachi and raised in Hong Kong – where her banker father was posted – Jehan Ara has covered many milestones; the biggest being the development of an ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs under the umbrella of P@SHA and The Nest i/o.

She is an inspiration that regardless of being a woman you can reach your goals and fulfill your dreams through hard work. Her same hard work and dedication has helped many local entrepreneurs in achieving their goals and introducing themselves at global platforms.

Roshaneh Zafar Managing Director, Kashf Foundation Zafar went on to establish Kashf Microfinance Bank in 2008 – becoming the first ever female CEO to receive a banking license. She later sold the bank to FINCA International for Rs 82 crores.

As of today, Kashf Foundation supports over 500,000 women and their families in Pakistan. It recently launched a vocational training program for the three main trades that low income women are mostly involved in i.e. tailoring, embellishment and beauty salons. Today, Kashf Foundation is the third largest microfinance organization in Pakistan with $22 million worth of loans granted.

Alongside her role as the Managing Director of Kashf Foundation, Zafar also serves on the Board of Engro Foods, the local foods giant, which she joined in 2012. Additionally, she is also a member of boards of nonprofit organizations Women's World Bank, Sahil and Karvaan Krafts.

Zafar has been given numerous awards for her services in development

Albeit being known as a tech expert in the IT sector of Pakistan, Jehan Ara does not recognize herself as a ‘techie’, instead she goes by the name of a writer which she always wanted to be and has been alongside her additional roles over the years.

After completing her graduation, Jehan Ara started her career as a journalist in a Hong Kong newspaper – where she had moved as a child. She worked in the newspaper for about a year and then moved into advertising. From there she worked in a series of different publications.

She worked in Hong Kong and UAE for various magazines and journals and after moving back to Pakistan when her father retired she stepped into IT sector ‘somehow’ she says.

Jehan Ara started Enabling Technologies (a multimedia company) with her friend. It was the early 90s and the amalgamation of multimedia, internet and communication led her into the IT sector of Pakistan – a male dominated arena.

She continued to venture out with one project or the other and joined P@SHA in the meantime, this was when her true calling cane and her goal became to help grow the IT sector of the country. Jehan Ara is a strong advocate of Cyber-Security, Privacy and Data Protection legislation in Pakistan. Among her many initiatives, she is presently working on an initiative called ‘Take Back the Tech’, meant to create awareness on the use of cutting edge technology and how it can play a vital role in ending violence against women. She is also a renowned speaker in the IT and entrepreneurial structure. She represented Pakistan at Global Entrepreneurship Summit last year in the U.S.

sector including Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan’s highest civilian awards. She was also awarded the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2007.

Jehan Ara President, P@SHA

COVER STORY

Creating the event management industry

Frieha Altaf

Director, Catwalk Event Management & Productions Pvt. Ltd.

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Magna Cum Laude – an academic level of distinction – of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in the U.S, Frieha Altaf is known as an event manager, a choreographer, a PR specialist and a writer.

With the dream of becoming a professor of art, getting home in the afternoons to paint with her children and leading a happy married life, Altaf finished college.

She then wanted to go for Masters but lack of funds held her back – something a person as persistent as Altaf had to bow down to.

She then joined the modeling industry – after being discovered at one of her art exhibitions – and worked with an advertising agency for almost three years. This was where Altaf’s connection to her future career path was established.

She founded Catwalk in 1989 – a fashion management company – and organized her first event with the help of friends who were themselves were amateurs in the industry. Soon after however she moved abroad and lived in Canada and USA for many years, got married twice both of

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which ended in divorce.

Years passed and Frieha moved back to Pakistan for good in 2000 and decided to pick up where she left off.

The lady choreographer worked on an idea and proposed it to Unilever which in return gave her the go-ahead. Altaf then proudly introduced the ‘Red Carpet’ culture in Pakistan and organized the first LUX Style Awards in 2002.

As of today, her company ‘Catwalk Productions’ which has transformed into 360 degree event management company, caters to clients such as Unilever, Sana Safinaz, Coca-Cola, DHL, Bank Alfalah, Engro Foods and Samsung to name a few. Under the event management umbrella, Catwalk has organized over as 2,350 events and hosted as many as 15 million attendees.

The company also operates in the domain of Public Relations, Model Management, Wedding Planning and Fasos Style School (a training platform for aspiring models).

Although Altaf is not a college professor and is a single mother; she surely shares a special bond with her children Parishey and Turhan. Balancing her professional and family life has been difficult, as press quotes her, but she loves the motherhood role she fulfills along with many others.

The economic manager

T

he federal finance minister is the most important executive after the prime minister, for he is the economic manager of the country, but managing the economy of Pakistan’s largest province (based on population) is no small affair either nor is the person holding this position: meet Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha, the finance minister of Punjab. Wife of Dr Hafiz Ahmed Pasha, she was born on March 3, 1962 in Lahore. She obtained the degrees of BA (Hons), M.A (Economics) and Masters of Applied Science in Economics from University of Karachi, Karachi. She did her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Leeds, UK in 1991.

Pasha is an economist and academic who has served as Professor, Managing Director, Consultant, Chairperson, Technical Advisor

The Stateswoman

Anusha Rahman

and Senior Fellow in various National and Provincial organizations. She is also associated with a number of Government Departments as Technical Expert. She has been the Head of two important think tanks in Pakistan including Social Policy and Development Centre Karachi, and the Institute of Public Policy, BNU Lahore. She has been a Member, Board of Directors in Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. She served as a consultant in various international and bilateral organizations like United Nations DepartFinance minister, Punjab ment of Economic and Social Affairs. She has published over 75 books, reports/articles in national and international journals. She was elected as Member, Provincial Assembly of the Punjab in general elections 2013 against one of the seats reserved for women and is functioning as Minister for Finance. Her husband, a former Federal Minister, is also a distinguished economist of Pakistan.

Aisha Ghaus Pasha

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Minister of State, Information Technology and Telecommunication

nusha Rahman, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication is a well-known name in the country: after all, a single decision by her can affect as many as 137 million cellular subscribers in the country. In fact, the IT and Telecom ministry is the umbrella body for Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, the apex regulator of telecom sector, one of the highest tax-paying sector which reported Rs 45, 600 crore in annual revenues last year. Born on June 1, 1968, Rahman belongs to a nonpolitical family of Lahore. In early 90s after finishing her education she joined her uncle’s law firm which was affiliated with PML-N. From there, Rahman’s political affiliation with the current ruling party began and she joined the party along with her legal practice.

She frequently made headlines as minister for IT and Telecom over the past few years. Since she took charge of this important ministry, Pakistan adopted 3G and 4G mobile technology, drafted the Telecom Policy, passed a cybercrime law and lifted the three-year long ban from video-sharing website Youtube -- each of these developments had a great influence across the length and breadth of the country. A law graduate from University College London, U.K – specializing in Law and Economics of regulated industries, networks and markets – Rahman is an active politician since 2006. Previously, she was affiliated with Telenor Pakistan, a multinational mobile telecommunication operator in capacity of Corporate Legal Counsel. Rahman’s legal practice has remained in the domain of constitutional, corporate and telecommunication law.For her contribution in empowering women through technology, Rahman was awarded ‘‘GEM-TECH Global Achievers 2015’ from UN. Additionally she also received the “Government Leadership Award” on behalf of Pakistani government in March, 2017.

COVER STORY

Managing the family silver

Zeelaf Munir Managing Director, English Biscuit Manufacturers

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psychiatrist by academic qualification, Dr. Zeelaf Munir is the current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of English Biscuit Manufacturers – Pakistan’s largest biscuit manufacturing company.

After completing her M.B.B.S from Dow Medical University, Karachi, Munir – daughter of Khawar Masood Butt (Chairman EBM) – moved to the U.S in 1994 where she specialized in psychiatry from the Washington University School of Medicine.

While staying and working in the U.S, Munir attained a Master’s Degree majoring in Health Finance & Management from Johns Hopkins University and also attended various management courses at Harvard Business School.

In 2010, upon Munir’s return from the U.S, she was appointed as Chairperson Executive Management Board in her family business EBM and then in 2015 she was given the charge as CEO and Managing Director of the company, which earned north of Rs2,500 crore in sales in the current year as per market estimates. Since her joining, EBM has launched various new products, including traditional recipes like Nan Khatai.

With over 20 years of experience Munir has expertise in clinical practice, management and entrepreneurship. The CEO is also a notable speaker in various Pakistan-American conferences.

With additional input from Farooq Baloch

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The rarity

B

eing the chief executive of one of the subsidiaries of Pakistan’s largest private sector conglomerate, Engro Corp., is quite an achievement, but there are those who evaluate the performance of this executive every year to ensure he keeps running the business efficiently -the latter is referred to as Board of Directors to whom the CEO reports to.

Given that women in Pakistan represent only about 5% of all members on the

board of KSE-100 companies, it takes someone special and powerful to be among those.

Meet Sadia Khan, an INSEAD graduate and the only female Director of Engro Fertilizers Limited, a subsidiary of Engro Corp. It’s not an everyday occurrence in our country that a woman sustains an exceptionally good career. Khan for one stands among those few women who do have a successful career with numerous other laurels on her sleeves.

Having done her Masters in Economics from Yale University in the U.S, and an Undergraduate degree in Economics from Cambridge University in U.K, Khan started her career in New York with Lehman Brothers. She then worked with

Rising through

The Accountant

the banks

eet Moneeza Usman Butt, the first woman partner at KPMG – one of the big four audit and advisory chartered accountant firms of Pakistan. Being a Chartered Accountant by profession, Butt is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP). She has spent over 20 years of her career with KPMG Pakistan in the Audit department and is the first woman to make it to the top position in the firm.She regularly writes for The Pakistan Accountant, a magazine published by ICAP as well as Clarity, the firm’s in house magazine. She has participated as a speaker in seminars of ICAP & other institutions. She was nominated as ‘Woman of Inspiration 2016’ by Ladies Fund – an organization aiming to promote female entrepreneurship in Pakistan. She is also a member of the Chartered Accountants Women Forum of ICAP.

M

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n MBA (Banking and Finance) graduate of Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi and DAIBP from the Institute of Bankers in Pakistan, Tahira Raza is the CEO and President of First Women Bank Limited -- the only woman in Pakistan heading a bank. After completing her studies, Raza started her banking career in 1975 with Muslim Commercial Bank. Later on in 1989, she ventured out with First Women Bank Limited (FWBL) and became one of the founding executives. Raza, an experienced and distinct banker, then joined National Bank of Pakistan in 2003 as Chief Risk Officer in the Risk Management Division. It was in 2012, Raza’s persistence and hard work paid off and she became the first female to be appointed as a Senior Executive Vice President of NBP. Later on in April 2014, Raza was appointed as the President of FWBL where she is currently serving. Alongside she serves as a Non-Executive Director of Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) since October, 2011. Raza has also presented numerous papers on Credit, Risk Management and Banking & Finance at national and international conferences and seminars.

Moneeza Usman Butt

Tahira Raza President, First Women Bank Limited

Asian Development Bank in Philippines and served as Executive Director of non-banking Finance Companies at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) from 2000 to 2003.

She climbed another step on her success ladder in 2003 when she was designated as the Head of Strategic Management at the State Bank of Pakistan for a two year period. In 2011, Khan launched her own company Selar Enterprises Private Limited – a logistics company – where she serves as CEO. Moreover, Khan is also Group Executive Director in her family-owned

Partner, Audit and Assurance, KPMG

business Delta Shipping Private Limited.

She has been awarded the prestigious, “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite” (Knight of the National Order of Merit) award by the French government in 2014 for her contributions in building the Pakistan-France relations.

She has also been serving as the Honorary Consul General of Finland in Karachi since 2012.

Sadia Khan Board member, Engro Fert & CEO Selar Enterprises COVER STORY

Internationally companies are increasing women representation in board room and strategic decision making positions.

Pakistan still has a long way to go in that respect with one of the lowest percentages of women in the workforce By: Nida Jaffery ccording to the International Finance Corporation, only 13% of the 303 companies, surveyed in Pakistan in 2010, had more than one woman director on the board. This sample included publicly listed companies, large family-owned corporations, and private, unlisted companies.

Another review conducted in 2012 of the 97 largest publicly listed companies of Pakistan, which are part of the Karachi Stock Exchange-100 Index, revealed that only a few women are part of the country’s corporate leadership. Only three out of 97 companies, at the time, had women chief executive officers (CEOs).

The picture is much gloomier now that a similar survey conducted in 2017 by Profit of the 99 largest publicly listed companies of Pakistan (part of the KSE-100 Index) suggested that only one company i.e. Arpak International Investment Limited has female CEO. To top it all, officials from the company confirmed that the day to day operations of ARPAK are run by Mr Abbas Sarfaraz Khan, son of the on paper CEO Begum Laila Sarfaraz Khan.

Begum Khan attends office occasionally and is an active member of All Pakistan Women’s Association.

Moreover, our study revealed that 5.5% of the total 881 board of directors at the KSE-100 Index companies are women.

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Additionally, women serve on the boards of only 32 out of 99 companies under review.

There are numerous reasons behind this disparity. Many blame men, others blame women, and some, the overall system.

The Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) said in its report titled “Gender Diversity at Board Level” that the lack of qualified women in work environment is the top reason for the under-representation of women on corporate boards in Pakistan.

However, it can be argued that female professionals face numerous other barriers to

being elected to corporate boards. There are societal norms and biases whereby maledominated boards and directors frequently overlook qualified female candidates.

Moreover, the majority of Pakistani companies that have female board members tend to be family-owned enterprises, implying that female board members can be successful when they are able to bypass traditional social barriers through existing connections in the form of family members.

A close look at the corporate boards of companies like Dawood Hercules, Ferozsons Labs, JDW Sugar Mills, Kohat Cement,

“REACHING THE TOP IS NORMALLY ORGANIC AND SINCE WOMEN HAVE ONLY STARTED COMING INTO ALL FIELDS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, I FEEL VERY SOON YOU WILL SEE MANY WOMEN CLIMB THE CORPORATE LADDER AND MANY BOARD MEMBERS WILL BE FEMALE" Nilofer Saeed

Lucky Cement, DG Khan Cement, and Muslim Commercial Bank present accurate examples of the given. The women members on the board of said companies are either wives or daughters of the owners.

Developed countries have tried to overcome the problem. Gender diversity growth is rapid in many developed countries. Three countries with the highest percentage of female workers are Iceland (78%), Denmark (75%) and Norway (71%). Four of the five lowest rates of female economic activity are in emerging economies: UAE (42%), Chile (39%), Turkey (25%) and Pakistan (22%).

Pakistan’s Female employment rank, among 50 countries studied in a report, is 49. Women on boards rank and women in parliament rank is 38 and 20, respectively.

The overall rank of Pakistan is 50 out of 50.

This not only elucidates the poor condition of the current corporate scenario, but

GENDER DIVERSITY

also explains the deep rooted gender bias prevailing in the most developed sector of our society.

“There are limitations because being in business in Pakistan is like being part of a men's club and they do not wish to welcome woman. An example can be Sind Club which does not accept female members to this day. They always have to be the wife of someone successful,” said Neelofar Saeed, the owner of Hobnob Group.

However, many, including Saeed, believe that the scenario is going to and must change in the years to come.

Given the relatively low number of female board members, it is unsurprising that gender diversity has become a focus of investors in recent years. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, many investors expect boards to lead companies in new directions, to introduce fresh perspectives and to focus more on risk mitigation.

According to a report by Glass Lewis a global proxy advisory service, investors believe that new and different ideas can come from those boards that are diverse in race, gender, background and experience and that have appropriate levels of independence. It also said that investors have pressured regulators to require companies to provide more information about the racial and gender composition of their boards. This helps them create multiple ideas generated by diverse minds working in a field.

Board diversity is also seen as the key to ensure that a company is able to reach all segments of its market. It is questionable whether a company that provides products or services generally purchased by women can effectively gauge opportunities or challenges if no women are consulted or given a role in setting strategies or direction. However, unfortunately, this is the case with numerous companies in Pakistan and abroad.

According to a 2011 review by executive research firm CT Partners, 29 Fortune 1,000 consumer companies had no women on their boards. Clearly, this possesses strategic challenges for these companies, given that women control nearly 75% of consumer purchasing decisions in a household.

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In addition to that, several studies suggest that greater gender diversity in the boardroom improves financial performance.

A 2007 Catalyst study found that companies with more women on their boards outperformed companies with fewer women, relative to metrics such as return on equity, return on sales and return on invested capital.

There are other examples that indicate that the benefits of board gender diversity may be realized under certain circumstances.

A 2011 study of German public companies found two major benefits for companies that had greater number female workers: 1. Consumer-oriented companies benefited from women holding decisionmaking positions, because women tend to control household purchases, thus other women understand better what appeals to

them.

2. Companies with large female workforces benefited from lower turnover and the ability to retain talented employees.

These and many other evidences can be taken into account when the current debate is in order. Another issue faced by women in the corporate sector is the pay gap prevailing in the market. The gender pay gap is influenced by a number of interrelated work, family and societal factors, including stereotypes about the work women and men ‘should’ do, and the way women and men ‘should’ engage in the workforce.

However, the pay debate is farfetched when the situation of gender diversity in the corporate world is far from ideal.

On the other hand, needless to mention, women are doing great for themselves and are moving ahead everyday.

“Reaching the top is normally organic and since women have only started coming into all fields in the last 10 years, I feel very soon you will see many women climb the corporate ladder and many board members will be female." said Saeed. n

GENDER DIVERSITY

OPINION

Ayesha Aziz

with household chores, social commitments and other obligations make raising kids a delicate balancing act for women, which tends to take a toll on their career ambifew weeks ago I told you a story of a tions. dreamer, since then I have received a lot Women mostly tend to give up their dream of messages from people specially jobs to care for their families and once the kids women who have asked me to share my start going to school and things at home are journey, while many others have critimore streamlined, they want to go back to cized that my story has no business work, but it becomes almost impossible to find being in a business magazine, but I think that one door which leads them back into the it does! Women make up almost half of corporate world. In the West, there are still the workforce and are also the large mapossibilities and opportunities, but sadly in our jority of family caregivers, and in the absence of reliable fampart of the world, its next to impossible. In a ily supports, too many women are forced to make difficult country as large as India, I could find only decisions between keeping their jobs and caring for their famfour companies which specialized in helping ily members. Most of the times, this is a non-refundable onewomen get back to work after a career break. way ticket out the corporate door.

In Pakistan, I found only one company, which This got me thinking and I headed straight to my happy place has a special program for the returning moms. with my laptop and a cup of coffee to find out what happens in I am still looking for more and hoping that the other parts of the world. I was surprised that this does not situation is not as gloomy as it looks right happen only in Asian countries, it happens all over the world, now. and it happens a lot! Stress and emotional distress associated No head hunters or recruiters were willing to invest their time into marketing a highly educated and experienced candidate with loads of potential just because she took a long career break.

While most companies I applied to didn’t even consider me, I still Ayesha Aziz bagged a few interviews through my social network and old colleagues, is Mom, Mechanical which boosted my confidence and I found the hidden me under all the dust Engineer, Teacher, that had gathered in all these years.

Aspiring Masterchef and Photographer, Wanderer Going back to work after a career break can be tough in the current climate, and a lot more! but the toughest challenge you face is building up your confidence to apply for jobs. Lack of confidence is a huge barrier facing women who have taken years out of the workforce. You need to think about the experience you already have, both in work and outside work. Not only have you built up a raft of skills as a parent which are useful in the workplace, including time

Return of the Stay-at-Home-Mom – Part 2

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CAREERS

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management, communications skills and patience, but you may also have been involved in voluntary activities, such as on the parent teachers’ association.

Quoting David Cameron: "The drive for more women in business is not simply about equal opportunity, it's about effectiveness." The evidence is that there is a positive link between women in leadership and business performance. We have witnessed first-hand the benefits of nurturing high performing staff regardless of whether they are a man, a woman, a new mom, or a returning mom.

Not utilizing all the investment that went in the training and development of someone having real potential to reach the top would be such a waste of talent!

Some of the recruiters have shared their apprehension over hiring me because they feel that I might be taking time off frequently because of my kids. But I say that at this point in time I am making a conscious choice of making a come back realizing the challenges I might have to face and they may be no different from any other potential employee! On the contrary, I am more prepared to deal with the challenges effectively. It's important to remember that in every employee's working life there may be times when they need to work in a more flexible way - this could be anything from raising a child to compassionate leave. It isn't just mothers that benefit from working differently.

In Norway the shared responsibilities of parental care after a baby is born sees dads actively taking three months paternity leave. 40% of women sit on directorate boards in Norway, and although this is enforced through quotas, there does seem to be a general acceptance that both parents can have careers that fit around their family life.

Mentoring programs, flexible working, better communication and adaptable approaches to new ways of working have to be supported and implemented from the top.

They help reduce barriers to create a more level playing field for women in the workplace. And for it to be genuinely accepted that women can have it all – a career and a family life. Women bring other skillsets to the table, such as fantastic time management and multitasking skills from having not one job, but two.

Not to mention, it could work wonders for the company’s image, where there is a lot of demand of gender balance within the companies from our foreign partners and clients. Just like it was way back in the 90’s and the early 2000’s when companies were encouraged to have day care facilities for children of their female workforce, welcoming the stay-at-home moms would be a fresh breath of air in the corporate world.

What really makes me sad is that a lot of us don’t even try going back because of fear. So many of highly educated and capable women hold back their dreams mainly due to fear of discrimination and fear of rejection – I

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have faced both and still struggling to find a way in. I have been mocked, ridiculed, rejected (a lot), discouraged, encouraged and motivated by friends, ditched by ‘friends’ who promised to help, helped and guided by strangers who became friends in the process but never lost hope that one day I will realize my dreams. The story of the ant who fails 99 times and achieves her goal at the 100th attempt keeps me going everyday. People tell me that I should give up and become a teacher to keep busy, but that’s not who I am! Look closely, and the woman in the blue overalls and a yellow safety hat in a factory, working on Continuous Improvement and Sustainability, that’s me!

CAREERS

START-UP

Empowered

WOMAN is well grounded in her

ROOTS, CULTURE

In conversation with

Roshanay Zafar ounded in 1996, Kashf was the first NGO microfinance institution envisioned to become a ‘one-stop financial services provider” for low income women and their families to have rooted in Pakistan.

Roshaneh Zafar is a founding member of Kashf Foundation and Kashf Microfinance Bank Limited (FINCA Bank). In addition, she chairs Kashf Holdings and manages the operations of Kashf Foundation. Kashf and

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INTERVIEW

Roshaney have been awarded the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in March 2007 along with the OneWoman Initiative Award by the US State Department in 2009. As part of it’s 5by20 global commitment, Coca-Cola collaborated with Kashf Foundation to support women across the rural areas of Pakistan. The partnership has come a long way over the past few years in achieving ‘sustainable’ deliverables and empowering women by instilling in them a sense of self-sufficiency.

In an attempt to enlighten our followers, the Profit team interviewed Roshanay about her

exciting journey with Kashf.

What is the vision and mission of Kashf Foundation?

Kashf started some 20 years ago to economically empower female micro-entrepreneurs from low income communities across Pakistan. Our vision is to provide women economic voice through access to financial products like micro-loans, micro-insurance and micro-savings, while enhancing their capacity and financial management through trainings in financial education and business management. Not only that, we also work

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with the families of women entrepreneurs to help them overcome many of the social constraints that women face when running successful micro-businesses. In other words, we work towards alleviating both financial and social constraints that push women entrepreneurs out of the economy.

Can you tell us the story of your prior success, challenges and major responsibilities?

Well a 20 years journey is a long one, and without challenges we would not have succeeded as an institution. For one, if we talk about numbers we have enabled over 2 million households to set up micro businesses.

Over 43% of these were exclusively women led enterprises. We have also generated over 650,000 additional jobs as a result of these loans, and not only that but we have also enhanced the ability of such households to invest in better education and better nutrition of their children. Over 85% of the female clients who have been working with us also share enhanced self-esteem, selfconfidence and decision-making capacity.

We are also delighted that this year one of our clients from Haripur, Rizwana Shah won the prestigious N-Peace award which is sponsored regionally by UNDP. Her journey from Haripur to Bangkok (where the award ceremony was held) is a testament to the success of Kashf’s economic empowerment program, for as Rizwana Baji told me “Kashf is my power for it has given me voice and recognition."

How do you describe women empowerment in Pakistan in contrast to the West?

Well, I would not like to make a normative judgement here but respond to this by looking at real issues. For one when it comes to the labour force participation rate of women in Pakistan, we continue to be at a low rate with only 19% of women currently in the labour force; contrast that with the fact that over 50% of the enrolment in higher education institutions are female, so my sense is that as these young female graduates enter into the job market, this aspect will change over time. At the same time, women’s participation in the informal sector and agriculture is over 80%. However the downside is that in many cases women are earning less than half of what men earn for the same job.

In other words, we can’t really measure empowerment as one single outcome, we have

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to view it holistically and only then can we work on eliminating the root causes. So to give you an example, at Kashf through our business management trainings we educate women about prevalent market rates so they are aware on what the true value of their product is so that they can negotiate the correct price.

Is it hard in Pakistan for women to strike a balance between a career and household duties?

I think this aspect is relevant to women across the globe, irrespective of where they come from – work life balance is a struggle in any society. I feel it is perhaps easier for many of us to work, given the close knit family structures we come from, where child care is usually a communal process.

Also child care is more affordable in a large number of cases. I think our struggle in Pakistan is more about mind set, I have seen many young women with children leave the workforce as they are compelled to do so by their in laws and not out of their own design.

What does it mean to be an ‘empowered female’ in Pakistan?

Well, let me tell you it is not the stereotype we see on popular media, where an empowered woman is shown as someone who has a job, earns an income and neglects her family! Or the other option is that she is a happy-go-lucky talking back to her elders, fighting with the entire community type of young woman who ultimately has to capitulate to the will of the man that she is married off to! My sense is that an empowered woman is someone who is very well grounded in her roots and her culture and who uses her influence positively to transform the choices of others in her community. She is both a doer and a leader and is willing to take risks to change the society.

How has the journey with Coca-Cola been so far? What is the collaborative project and it’s accomplishments?

Our journey with Coca-Cola has been extremely impactful, as we have worked together to not only fund over 6,000 female entrepreneurs, but have also constantly innovated to work on strengthening the value chain for enhancing women’s productivity, whether it was through business management initiatives or more recently via voca-

tional trainings. Our data from this collaboration has revealed that not only has women’s productivity been enhanced in terms of greater income with over 80% of the clients earning higher incomes year on year, but women’s self-esteem and their decision-making has also been positively impacted. By working with Coca-Cola to offer a holistic package for women’s economic empowerment, Kashf has further demonstrated the proof of concept that investing in women reaps benefits beyond the expected, an empowered woman creates an empowered household.

How do you see the Foundation changing in the last 6 years ever since its collaboration with Coca-Cola?

Over the past 6 years, we have strengthened our vision on the capacity building aspects of our work, for there is no doubt that creating a level playing field for women entrepreneurs requires greater investments in their acumen and their expertise. Given the many hurdles women face at the community level, simply providing access to financial services will not reap the same benefits, unless it is twinned with relevant trainings and other measures. Over time we have also learnt that being inclusive and working with the entrepreneur and their family (both men and women) is a critical factor for success and therefore developing appropriate interventions to involve the family are also an important part of what we do at Kashf.

Kashf has also become the voice of gender equity both at the community level and at the corporate level, to quote a point we are one of the few institutions in Pakistan to offer paternity leave to our staff and also have an exciting program of “women on wheels” where we provide interest free loans to our female staff to purchase scooties.

What should the Pakistani community be expecting in terms of future projects?

Well, as you know we have been working on many projects to raise awareness through media, what we term as edu-tainment, the last of which was the Udaari drama serial which we produced recently. We hope to continue with several such projects in the coming years especially focusing on radio, while we will continue to strengthen our work on the capacity of building female entrepreneurs.

INTERVIEW

‘’I HAVE AN UPPER HAND ON MY PRICES AND I TRY TO KEEP MY PRICES AS LOW AS POSSIBLE SO THAT I CAN SELL MORE’’

By: Aisha Arshad

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

After failing to launch a clothing export business with her husband, Kulsoom Halali identified a gap in the market for children’s clothes and filled it with QnH. Now almost 17 years later she plans to expand her workforce and launch the brand online to compete with bigger brands.

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other of two teenaged boys, daughter of Anwar Moosajee owner of the famous A. Moosajee and sons, a food and nutrition scientist, an entrepreneur and a graduate of Drexel University, USA: Kulsoom Halai is the woman running the show behind QnH – a niche clothing brand which currently made rounds in the news for its updated and modern lines.

When she came back from the US in 1994, Kulsoom Halai, then Kulsoom Moosajee, got married to Ammer Halai who himself had worked for 8 years in the US for Whitaker Myers Insurance Group in Cleveland, Ohio. Together the both of them wanted to start a business and a garment export factory was almost setup by the newlyweds. However, luck did not play out well and the venture had to be shut down even before it started due to the disturbed security situation of Karachi in early 90s.

Halai then stayed at home whereas Ammer found a job in SGS Pakistan for himself. However their entrepreneurial instincts still did not dissipate. A few years down the lane and Mr. and Mrs. Halai, while trying to find clothes in the market for their young children, found a business idea

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‘’OUR KIDS WERE YOUNG AND WE COULDN’T FIND NICE CLOTHES WITH THE REASONABLE PRICES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO BUY, WE THOUGHT THAT THERE’S A NICHE FOR KIDS CLOTHES AND THERE WEREN’T MANY KIDS CLOTHING STORES AT THAT TIME” Kulsoom Halai

which the couple did not hesitate to initiate. ‘’Our kids were young and we couldn’t find nice clothes with the reasonable prices that we would like to buy,’’ Halai recalls. ‘’We thought that there’s a niche for kids clothes and there weren’t many kids clothing stores at that time,’’ she goes 20 years back in time when she found a business line which now stands as 12 percent shareholder in overall apparel market globally and made €135 billion in sales in 2015.

The duo amalgamated Ammer’s passion for business and Kulsoom’s interest in designing clothes – which she had been

doing for her kids and relatives for a long time – and ventured out with minimal investment at Zamzama.

Started as a ‘mom n pop’ shop in 2000

by Kulsoom and her husband (late) Ammer Halai, QnH is known among the mothers of Karachi as their kid’s go to brand. However, primarily started as an eastern wear for kids’ fashion, the brand has started to evolve recently to catch up with the ‘severe competition’ in the apparel industry.

As Halai herself says that with a growing competition and brand war in the industry, a ‘mom n pop’ shop cannot go one on its own.

For this purpose QnH introduced a western clothing line for girls, between the ages of 15-25, in January last year by the name of Qulash: a refined and extended version of western clothing the store previously displayed on a small scale. This move came 16 years after the first kids store opened under QnH banner at Zamzama. ‘’All this time [mothers] have been telling us that their kids are growing up, where do they go now?’’ Halai shared a popular customer demand she received for the last couple of years.

Today, with four stores in the city and an online store in planning, QnH is aiming to become known as a brand for kids as well as teenage girls who according to Halai want to dress up in ‘western street fashion’.

Qulash is Halai’s offering for the teenage girls who once came to QnH as kids and grew up wearing the outfits Halai designed back in the day. Today with a team of in-house designers, QnH wants to cater

to the clientele that has a changed demand and no other place that offers western clothing in a competitive price.

Competitive pricing is what Halai considers is her unique selling point (USP).

Started from scratch by Ammer – to fulfill his passion of a business – QnH still stands as a small apparel house among the industry giants. Halai thinks her lower pricing for higher quality is what drives her business growth and remains her business strategy. ‘’I have an upper hand on my prices and I try to keep my prices as low as possible so that I can sell more,’’ says Halai. ‘’I have a thing that I want to have more turnover than not sell anything at all,’’ she tells her business mantra.

Over the years despite the selective target market and competitive pricing, QnH remained the underdog in the kid’s clothing industry. Its competitors Leisure Club, Outfitters and Guts which started after QnH seemed to have taken the larger chunk of market share on the basis of their large

workforce and bigger stock. ‘’When you asked before why I am lagging behind, I am lagging behind because I don’t have that man power with me at this point in time,’’ she openly admits the problem that holds back QnH. Increasing the workforce – which is imperative for the brand – is on the to-dolist of the lady entrepreneur to carry forward her husband’s legacy.

Halai has decided to revamp the business in order to counter the competition QnH faced in childrens clothing, its forte and 60 percent of business till today. By the beginning of this year, Halai introduced Qulash, redesigned the shops and transformed the business, which is named after her two sons Qasim and Hassan, from a store to a ‘brand’.

A wide contrast between the old shops of QnH and the new ones can be vouched for by the old customers of the clothing store.

However, regardless of the problems and plethora of responsibilities, Halai says

ALTHOUGH HALAI CONSIDERS ‘HARD WORK’ ANY ENTREPRENEUR’S ASSET AND CONSIDERS IT MANDATORY FOR ALL WOMEN WHO WANT TO FOLLOW HER FOOTSTEPS. SHE ALSO ADMITS THE IMPORTANCE OF STRONG TEAM AND MARKETING – TWO AREAS WHERE QNH HAS STARTED FOCUSING ON RECENTLY

she enjoys her work because this is how she has been brought up in a business family.

Sometimes its a tough job for a woman to do: designing clothes and running a business venture simultaneously – a passion she shared with her husband.

A typical day, Halai says is ‘hectic’ and then laughs off before explaining the one word answer. Along with fulfilling the responsibilities of a household and her husband’s business, she also takes part in A. Moosajee business which is her family’s establishment. ‘’I start off my day at 11:30. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later and I am in the office till about afternoon. I go home for lunch and then I come back about an hour or so and then I am here till 7:30,’’ Halai concludes her everyday routine which includes taking care of the household and her family responsibilities. eing the sole owner of the QnH until her children join the business, Halai currently supervises the admin, purchasing, inventory and marketing. With the intention of going national and online, Halai thinks her passion for her husband’s brainchild is what drives her through in a society where sometimes being a woman entrepreneur becomes a constraint. ‘’It’s not easy in our society for a woman to [do business] but it’s all in your own mind how you perceive what you want and there’s no stopping,’’ she says with determination.

Although Halai considers ‘hard work’ any entrepreneur’s asset and considers it mandatory for all women who want to follow her footsteps. She also admits the importance of strong team and marketing – two areas where QnH has started focusing on recently.

Talking about the challenges of her business, she sums it up in one line for all apparel industry players, ‘’You have to really give in your best and sometimes even your best is not enough.’’

However, from the experiences with her husband and her family business Halai has learnt the way to pursue success: ‘’You can’t just sit and say okay fine, I am done.

Every day you have to keep on, keep on and keep on.’’ ‘’It’s all in your mind; if you want something that bad just go ahead and do it,’’ she says to motivate the women who want to follow her line. n

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

BIG BUCKS

BUT MEDIOCRE RESULTS The banking industry might not be doing all that well amid falling interest rates that have squeezed margins but the trend of annual increments in compensation for presidents and CEO’s of banks remains the same, up and up.

By: Farooq Baloch hen it comes to stock market performance of last year, listed banks’ were at a distant south of benchmark KSE-100 Share Index – a gauge for the market’s overall performance. However, 2016 was not as bad for presidents and chief executive officers (CEOs) of banks, the country’s most powerful group of executives whose paycheques continued to get fatter.

Every bank’s Board of Directors rewarded their chief with a salary increment last year, according to publicly available data. The reports released so far show the average compensation of the CEOs of the top five private banks amounted to Rs 9.4 crore or Rs94 million in 2016.

As of March 3, not all banks had released their annual reports – the state-owned giant and member of the big five, National Bank of Pakistan, and the largest Islamic bank Meezan Bank Limited included – it could, therefore, not be determined as to who received the biggest raise in his paycheque.

However, based on information available so far, Wajahat Husain, President and

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CEO of United Bank Limited, was clearly on top of the list. As per UBL’s annual report, Husain’s remuneration for 2016 was Rs 14.4 crore, which translates to more than 1 crore per month, courtesy a 13.5% increase over his preceding year’s salary – the highest increase for any CEO based on reports released till the filing of this article.

Husain may continue to be the highestpaid CEO in the banking sector because the second-highest paid banker Atif Bajwa, President and CEO of Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL), was not even close. Bajwa’s compensation for the year under review increased to Rs9.7 crore or Rs97 million, up 5% from 92.5 million of the preceding year.

Among the top five private banks, Imran Maqbool, President and CEO of MCB, was the third highest-paid CEO followed by Nauman K. Dar of Habib Bank Limited. Maqbool’s salary increased by 5.2% in 2016 to Rs8.9 crore or Rs89 million while Dar’s paycheque swelled 8% to Rs8.1 crore or Rs81 million in 2016.

Though on the lower side among the top-paid bankers, Allied Bank Limited (ABL)’s Tahir Hassan Qureshi received the second-highest salary increment among top five private bank CEOs. The ABL chief’s remuneration increased by 11% to Rs5.8 crore or Rs58.1 million last year.

The aforementioned amounts are only

compensations and do not include other benefits paid to these bankers. For example, UBL paid another Rs1.4 crore to its CEO under certain short and long term employee benefits during 2016.

When put together, salaries of the top five private bank CEOs increased by an average 9% over the previous year. On the other hand, an average Pakistani witnessed a far lower increase in his annual income during fiscal year (FY) 2016 -- according to a report

by Express Tribune, the country’s per capita income increased by 2.9% to $1,561 or 1,62,000 (approx.) in FY2016.

Husain, the UBL chief, was the highestpaid executive in Pakistan during 2015, according to reports published in various newspapers and bank CEOs were the toppaid executive group in the country. While many companies - including a few banks have yet to release their annual reports, 2016 does not seem to be any different when it comes to remuneration of bankers -- however, the year was not as good for the banking sector overall, particularly for the shareholders. According to the data compiled

by Insight Securities, the banking sector (all listed banks) posted an average return of 32% (based on market cap) and contributed more than a fifth to the market’s overall growth in 2016, yet they significantly underperformed the benchmark KSE-100 Index, which rallied 46% in the same period.

Market analysts surveyed by Profit attributed this performance to shrinking banking spreads, which remain at their lowest level in over a decade and central bank’s policy rate that hovers at its lowest level of last 42 years.

A bank spread is the difference between borrowing rate (how much banks pay to depositors) and lending rate (how much banks charge from borrowers). In other words, it is banks’ equivalent of profit margin thus the higher the spread, the more a bank earns.

Banks profits either remained flat or declined slightly last year, Umair Naseer of Topline Securities said. This was mainly because of Pakistan Investment Bonds, which reached maturity in mid-2016 requiring most banks to reinvest the amount gained from it on lower interest rates.

Explaining, the analyst said banks invested a major chunk, about 30% or Rs1.2 trillion (amount for entire sector), of their deposits into PIBs, for it is less riskier, if risky at all, compared to lending to the private sec-

tor. When banks invested in PIBs three years ago, the rates were much higher (12% for three-year PIB), he said. When these bonds matured in mid-2016, the banks had to reinvest the money in new PIBs at a much lower rate (6.38% for three-year bond), which ate up their profit margins, he added.

Most analysts we spoke to are convinced 2016 wasn’t a good year for banking sector, but they also add the previous year (2015) was better. Banks’ profits grew by more than 10% in 2015, which also explains the raises earned by banks CEOs the next year (2016), says Rohit Kumar of Insight Securities. That is the raises given in 2016 reflect the performance of 2015, he added.

However, analysts also say raises given to the CEOs should not be judged based on profits alone. All banks have internal targets and any bonuses or rewards given to them may be a factor of achieving those targets. In

short, the data released by banks indicate their performance in the year under review but the compensation of their CEOs is reflective of their performance in the preceding year, they say.

Going by that standard, Husain looks all set for another handsome raise because UBL boosted its net profit by 7.8% to Rs27.7 billion and gave a total shareholder return of 66% in 2016 (according to Insight Securities). This is the highest return by any bank in the listed sector, outperforming the market by 20% in a year when banking sector’s overall profitability remained almost flat.

However, UBL is not the only bank, which outperformed the benchmark KSE100 Index: Meezan Bank, NBP, and BAFL posted 59%, 58%, and 53% return respectively in the same year while HBL remained in line with the market, recording 46% total return for the year.

BANKING

By: Syeda Masooma arketing Association of Pakistan (MAP) will hold the Sixth Marketing Conference in Lahore on 13th-14th March, under the title of MARCON ’17, (not to be confused with international Maintenance and Reliability Conferences, also abbreviated to MARCON).

MAP came into being in 1967 in Karachi, and its Lahore chapter was established in 1987. Since then MARCONs have been taking place every two or three years alternatively in Karachi and Lahore. This conference will be the twelfth in the series and the sixth to be held in Lahore by the Lahore chapter.

The conference is themed ‘Breaking Barriers’ and is intended to focus on some of the key areas of the current economic and marketing environment of the country.

Local and international speakers belonging to a range of businesses and economic sectors will share their marketing experiences and deliberate on issues like CPEC, needs of the modern digital age as well as the bottlenecks for Pakistani brands in entering the international market.

Chairman of the conference, and one of the founding members of the Lahore chapter of MAP, Nasir J. Chowdhry (N), and the Secretary General Malik Amer Salam (S) are quite hopeful of the success of the conference despite some unexpected changes at the eleventh hour, including the refusal by some of the key delegates to come to Pakistan in wake of the deteriorating security situation in the country.

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Here is what they had to share about MARCON, MAP and the economy of the country in general: Q: To begin with, can you explain the difference between selling and marketing for a layman?

(N): Selling is where a product has a price, you pay that price and get that product. That

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Marketing ends there, no more concern about the product being good or bad. For the buyer it is relevant but not for the market anymore.

Marketing is whereby the product’s perception is created. Why would you prefer one brand over another? That happens because a certain perception has been created in your mind through marketing. Marketing exploits all aspects of the brand depending on the target customer. The perception is built according to the customer.

The success of marketing is gauged by the sales of the product.

This doesn’t mean that marketing can make a low quality product successful by perception only. Customers may buy the product once but they won’t go there again if they don’t like it. The product has to satisfy the customers if it has to remain an attractive brand. So there are both factors involved, but even a high quality product needs the right marketing to be successful.

Q: Tell us about the MARCON 2017 and

what are your long term and short term aims and objectives out of this conference?

(N): In the short run, we want our members to get to know the latest trends in the marketing field. One of the things coming out of this congress will also be the solutions to the problems of new market trends. This would come through the experience of some of the speakers who have gone through these challenges and know exactly what they had to do to overcome them. Secondly there will also be input from the audience.

There is a question and answer session in which some of the answers will come out for doing things.

Q: Will this conference have a panel or one-by-one speakers?

(N): It will be one by one format for presentations concluded by chairman of the session and then the house will be thrown open for questions and answers. There are two main objectives here. One, we wish to do

Pakistan something different and out of the box every time. It is always the aim to bring something new. And second, here we will also be concentrating on how some of our members or speakers were able to do things and go exceptionally better.

Q: Is there any particular agenda on the table for this conference or speakers are allowed to talk about whatever they like?

(N): We have predetermined topics but although it is very difficult to limit the speakers, we try to do it in a way that speakers can say what they want to say but we put certain limits. We don’t want them to break barriers in that sense.

There are five to six topics for the sessions. The program has been formulated but it is still tentative. There is a session on marketing communications which is always very interesting because it is related to advertising. In this session, we try to bring good speakers and share with the audiences the marketing techniques that they used and the background of the strategy in coming up with that marketing technique.

Q: There are international speakers in the tentative program but no international participants. Why is that so?

(N): This conference is intended for our local marketeers, because we are trying to

WE HAVE PREDETERMINED TOPICS BUT ALTHOUGH IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO LIMIT THE SPEAKERS, WE TRY TO DO IT IN A WAY THAT SPEAKERS CAN SAY WHAT THEY WANT TO SAY BUT WE PUT CERTAIN LIMITS. WE DON’T WANT THEM TO BREAK BARRIERS IN THAT SENSE

bring our own people to know these rules and trends. We do have international speakers, but not audiences. Some of the international speakers have also dropped out. What happened in the past few days has scared them, which is very unfortunate. We did not expect this to happen because the people through whom we tapped them have their own businesses here. But things become different when the travel advisory becomes involved. So the guest lineup might change, we have received a couple of refusals already.

One of them was from Coke, who was a very important person coming from the region. He has backed off. The travel advisory suggests that if someone is going to a certain country, there will be some potential concerns and this is what they need to cover them against, in terms of insurance, security etc. If the incumbent decides to travel to a country against the advisory, then he has to make all the arrangements himself and the expenditure also becomes their own responsibility. And no one is going to stick their head out for something like this.

(S): As for as international audiences are concerned, since we have members all over the world, in Europe, Canada and several other places, we are giving live streaming of the program. People will be able to watch the proceedings, they won’t be able to participate in the discussions but they will be able to listen to the speakers and the discussions.

Q: There are different levels and types of marketing for different sectors. How does MAP hope to cater to different sectors or levels of management at the same time?

(N): I am in Pharmaceuticals and we are completely different from the consumer market. For us there are three factors to consider, company and product perception, the actual product that you are putting on the market and the marketing itself because our products don’t have an open market. Our customers include doctors, nurses, paramedics etc. and it is limited to them. Also we cannot advertise openly as others put up open billboards. We have to remain within prescribed norms.

(S): Our members belong to several sectors telecom, textiles, FMCGs, pharma and many others. What we do in different seminars is that we invite gurus from different sectors. They come and deliver lectures and then attendees get to ask questions openly.

MARKETING

Sometimes those questions sessions are extended to half an hour and people ask about their problems.

Behaviour of every sector is different and that leads to different norms for each sector too. A couple of years ago there wasn’t even a lot of knowledge of branding. But now there is. The Q&A session helps in narrowing down the problems and solutions to particular sectors.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges for the local industry in the modern day?

(S): There’s one important thing to consider, which is when a brand is introduced to the market, it grows by 14-18 per cent annually. If you look at just textiles for example, a plethora of brands has sprung up over the past few years, there has been mushroom growth in that industry. So this means that there is a lot of potential for growth in the Pakistani market. This begs the question that why our brands can’t go international. Our MARCON is also focused on removing that barrier in the minds of the people about our brands not having the potential to go beyond just the Pakistani market.

One of our key speakers is going to address this very issue. We asked him that we haven’t been able to understand that why do we hedge ourselves behind other brands. We had a very interesting gentleman the other day who is exporting rice. He said that Pakistan’s perception in the international arena isn’t good in the first place, and the bigger issue is that we ourselves badmouth our own country and our own people.

So when it comes to the profile that forms about exporting, these things matter a lot. If four Pakistanis are sitting, at least one of them is going to say something bad about the country in front of other people. We just can’t project ourselves in a good way. So

we will explore this and other issues that have become hurdles in our brands going international. So far we only take foreign products and produce them and export again, but we haven’t been able to go beyond that.

So we will be discussing this issue in detail and drawing out solutions as well.

Q: How have you been marketing this conference and how is this going to be financed?

(S): We have made a joint venture agreement with Jang Group and they are giving us a quarter page or half page advertisement in the newspaper and also special placements in their Geo channel. They are one of our main sponsors. We are also getting sponsorship offers from big companies like Coke, Unilever, Telenor etc. They wish to advertise and affiliate their brand with MARCO. So far we have six main sponsors and six co-sponsors.

However, the overall expenditure and security details are all confidential so we won’t be sharing that.

MARKETING IS WHEREBY THE PRODUCT’S PERCEPTION IS CREATED. WHY WOULD YOU PREFER ONE BRAND OVER ANOTHER? THAT HAPPENS BECAUSE A CERTAIN PERCEPTION HAS BEEN CREATED IN YOUR MIND THROUGH MARKETING. MARKETING EXPLOITS ALL ASPECTS OF THE BRAND DEPENDING ON THE TARGET CUSTOMER 46

Q: MAP has patronage of the Pakistan Government. Is there any financing coming from that side and is there any agenda on board by the government?

(N): No, we don’t have any patronage.

MAP is an independent body and we don’t need patronage from anybody (S): From Karachi side we might do it , because we are a chapter of the Karachi MAP. (N): We don’t want to be associated with the government. I personally feel that any association which has the patronage of the government means that it is being dictated or being run by the government. We don’t even let any government official in. The only government person invited as a speaker for the conference is only with regards to CPEC, otherwise everyone else is

from the private sector.

The government people come with a mouth piece to push the government’s agenda. We don’t want to be associated with the government whatsoever because of the kind of disposition that they have. We like doing things our own way and without any influence because there can’t be any influence on marketing, you have to do it on your own, whatever you need to do.

Q: What’s MAP’s own process to stay updated with the marketing trends around the globe and is there any RnD department for the association?

(N): We, as an association, aren’t directly involved in the process. But the speakers we invite for such sessions bring in the updates for the industry. They share their experiences regarding how they were able to disrupt the market or came up with something new in the field. We only provide a platform for the exchange of ideas but our responsibility concerns with what kind of people we invite as speakers. For instance the modern times are of a digital age and we have a session wholly dedicated to this.

A very interesting man from Teradata will be speaking on this occasion. He is the CEO for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and several other regions too. He was an accidental discovery for us but this guy was so good that we made him a part of this immediately. He is a very eloquent speaker and knows what he is talking about and he speaks in depth to which many speakers can’t even reach.

Q: From the point of view of a marketer, what are your opinions on the changing economic environment and CPEC in particular?

(S): Some say that CPEC is a game changer and it will be a huge deal, while some are of the opinion that when the Chinese will come here, they’ll take control of our industry. make their own decisions and create unemployment as well. To cater to this we have invited two speakers, one from the government’s side, Ahsan Iqbal, and one

WE ARE PROVIDING THE CHINESE A CORRIDOR WHICH IS GOING TO BENEFIT THEM AND THEIR STRATEGIC POSITION WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN, SO I THINK THAT WE SHOULD HAVE DEMANDED THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROJECT AND THEY SHOULD HAVE COME IN WITH THE EQUITY RATHER THAN JUST GIVING US SOFT LOANS AND BINDING US FOR THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS, WHERE WE WILL CONTINUE TO PAY TAXES TO REPAY THOSE LOANS from the private side, from an investment bank, to cover both aspects.

(N): We intend for them to tell us the perceptions where we could go wrong and to also highlight the red flag areas that need to be looked into before we become an economy of China here. Because there is a likelihood that once the Chinese come here, and there is still such criticism as far as I am aware and we will be discussing it in detail in the conference too, that the Chinese companies are not coming here in the form of equity but they are coming in the form of loans. Two-thirds of the Chinese companies are coming in loans. This means that once the money comes in and development takes place that money has to go back too.

Take a private enterprise for instance, if I am going to enter into a partnership with someone, I’ll ask them to invest if they wish to become a partner otherwise it doesn’t make sense. We are providing them a corridor which is going to benefit them and their strategic position will also strengthen, so I think that we should have demanded their participation in the project and they should have come in with the equity rather than just giving us soft loans and binding us for the next twenty years, where we will continue to pay taxes to repay those loans.

That is the reason we have positioned two people for this topic. One of them has the mandate of the government who is going to blow the advantages of CPEC out of proportion. But the outfall of this project

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO THERE WASN’T EVEN A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE OF BRANDING BUT NOW THERE AS THE Q&A SESSION HELPS IN NARROWING DOWN THE PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS TO PARTICULAR SECTORS

and the downstream implications on industry, trade and businesses also have to be considered and someone from the private sector needs to interpret them and place it in front of the government official. Then there will be a debate between delegates and speakers and we hope for some synthesis to come out of that.

Q: At the end of the day even if you make a resolution, how much convincing or bargaining power would you have to make the government adhere to that or implement that?

(S): We are a body that can give suggestions and how many times can you do that, once or twice. But that’s all we can do.

(N): I understand exactly what you are saying. The fact that there is a government official [Ahsan Iqbal] sitting there and he is a very high powered person, at least he will hear all the discussion and be made aware of it. If he wants to do it or not, at least he’ll know what are the potential downfalls.

He will be made aware of those concerns, and hopefully if he is a sensitive person, I’d like to believe that he is, I’m sure he will like to incorporate those points.

There is a positive criticism for your policies and if you are a person who wants the policies to actually work, since these policies are eventually going to transform into public, and if the policy ends up in negative effects, the government will be bashed at the end. Ultimately people will blame the PML-N for spending so much for so little gain, the same way that people’s sentiments changed about Motorway, now they are in reverse. So the first thing is that he will take note of those points. The second thing is that someone pushes it down the throats of the government, which is not possible in this case. n

MARKETING

TALKING HEADS

“Underlying risks to Pakistan's external sector remain. Trade weakness and slowing inward remittances mean that Pakistan will require greater foreign inflows to sustain FX reserves at current levels. If foreign-investment remains sluggish, further foreign borrowing may be necessary�

Bilal Khan Senior Economist Standard Chartered bank Pakistan

"CPEC may be a Trojan horse. Surging imports from China will damage local companies. Resultantly tax revenue and employment will not increase."

Ehsan A. Malik CEO, Pakistan Business Council

"We are studying opportunities in hydro-power and renewable energy.

House of Habib also wants to look at the food sector. Confectionery and halal foods are two big opportunities," Ali S. Habib Chairman Indus Motor

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OpiniOn

Dr. Kamal Monnoo

global trade, countries like China, india, Korea etc. are willing to sell/export/dump their surplus production even below their raw material costs. it takes basic accounting sense to make out that Chinese steel companies cannot possibly have a profit margin of 40 % on steel sales and in reality they were simply throwing their excess production into pakistan while he textile exports figures in January 2017 have fiselling their major production (80% of their production capacity) in nally registered a rise - meagre at about 0.8%, but a China at market prices to attain an overall profit. rise nevertheless - especially when the trend had However, the nTC & MOC would do even better by proactively anbeen negative for almost 2 years. And a simple inticipating the likely future glut of textiles and garments from the Xinference from this: the government’s textile package jiang textile park both in the export related and domestic markets of just may be working. perhaps it would be the right pakistan - Likely to pose a serious threat to the very future of the paktime to further strengthen it by quickly moving to istani textile sector. in due course, Chinese textile ware from Xinjiang provide the export industry with a level playing will be passing through China-pakistan Economic Corridor (CpEC) to field by re-negotiating bad trade deals and providing protection from the Middle East and north Africa (MEnA) regions via the Gwadar dumping where necessary. For example, the pTA signed by pakistan port. Xinjiang government as we know is investing $2.8 billion in eswith indonesia in 2013 has now completed three years of its impletablishing modern textile and garment factories to be completed by mentation. At the time of signing of the pTA, indonesia’s exports to 2020, and Xinjiang province alone is expected to produce about 500 pakistan were US $ 936 million, which increased to US $ 1.9 billion million garments per annum. pakistani markets are already awash with in 2015-16. On the other hand, pakistan’s exports to indonesia hordes of dumped & cheap Chinese products and chances are that showed a negative growth after the implementation of the pTA as pakistan would experience a similar influx of textile goods under exports dropped to US $ 173 million in 2015 from US $ 273 Million China’s transit trade from Xinxiang to Gwadar. The time is now to in 2011. The story is more or less the same when we evaluate some smartly negotiate trade rules under CpEC in order to protect pakistan’s other similar trade agreements say with Thailand, Turkey, strategic industrial and economic interests. Transit fee with China and Afghanistan (transit trade deal), and China. all partnering countries needs to be prudently negotiated as such a fee Give a free hand to the modern day’s big, emerging economies and would not only be a major earning source for paying off the CpEC rethey have the potential, the resources and the appetite to completely lated debts and other associated costs, but also go a long way in ensurtake over one’s market. pakistan is learning this the hard way. Still, ing pakistan’s manufacturing competitiveness in the long run. better late than never, as it looks that both the national Tariff ComHowever, the game of protectionism can often turn out to be countermission (nTC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) have finally productive and therefore needs to be played out carefully. For example, understood this global financial fact and are now for the first time imdespite Mr. Trump’s recent histrionics, the reality is that bilateral trade posing some practical anti-dumping % levels. For example, the lately volume of China and the US stands strongly inter-locked. Likewise, imposed anti-dumping rates of 6 % - 41 % and average anti-dumping pakistan also economically needs China and cannot do without it. rate on all Chinese steel imports into pakistan of 40 % shows that in On a positive note, the future of global trade remains bright. While duly recognising the fears of growing protectionism in developed economies, even the iMF and especially the WTO remain confident Dr. Kamal Monnoo that this phenomenon of growing protectionism will pass soon. They expect the global economy to grow by 3.4 percent and the world trade to grow by as much as 3.1 percent in 2017, far better than in The writer is an entrepreneur and economic analyst. He 2016. The concern though is that since some long-term structural and fundamental problems to free can be contacted at and fair global trade still remain unresolved, the coming years are going to present some fresh and kamal.monnoo@gmail.com daunting challenges for smaller developing countries striving to expand their global market share while preserving their home manufacturing and protecting their domestic markets from being flooded with dumped goods from large industrial economies. pakistan during this period will not only need to be fearful of such dangers, but its overall trade strategy will also require some deft handling!

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