KCCI announces awards to promote local brands

KARACHI: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has decided to introduce ‘Pride of Pakistan’ awards in order to promote local brands and provide them with international recognition. This was announced by the President of KCCI, Abdul Majeed Haji Mohammad on Saturday.

The initiative was taken after it was discovered that an American company had been selling other varieties of rice and illegally branding them as basmati. He explained that the company had even copyrighted the name. He was addressing a conference held to recognise the contributions of the media to the business community.

“KCCI will also hold the ‘second export trophy’ awards before the month of Ramazan where exporters will be awarded purely on merit to encourage them further,” he added.

He further informed the conference that an initiative called ‘Connect Pakistan’ had been taken to join all the chambers of commerce, traders and investors together with the latest technology and information.

Earlier, official spokesman and convener of construction committee of Karachi affected markets relief committee, AQ Khalil, said that the affected traders of arson-hit buildings at M A Jinnah Road and their representatives were of the view that due any prolonged delay for maintaining the facade structure of 4 arson-hit buildings, either the said structure be removed immediately or preserving be completed on fast-track.

AQ Khalil has said that the Government of Sindh had instructed the KBCA and SPPRA to protect and provide relief to the traders. However, the Sindh antiquities department is unfortunately creating delaying tactics in the name of preserving the structures which is already damaged, he said.

He said that the building were mostly built of limestone and there is an apprehension that this will collapse sooner or later but it appears that under the pressure and dictation of heritage NGO, the department is unnecessarily disregarding the clear cut instruction of the Sindh Government administration just to safeguard the interests of the heritage NGO.

Chairman of KCCI sub- committee on banking said that KCCI had given Rs4.2 billion in the form of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to various welfare trusts. KCCI also announced that it would be setting up a resource center and digital library and improving on their research reports for media facilitation.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2010.