Pak-China business: Where technology meets entrepreneurship

Second day of the forum promotes brands, bringing customers a step closer.

ISLAMABAD:

Sci-fi buffs and entrepreneurs thronged to the Pak-China Business (PCB) forum on the second day (Monday) of the event, to view the stalls and exchange hands-on tips. The interactive atmosphere provided a platform for networking.

Students could be seen hovering over the various electronic stalls, including the ones by Haier electrical appliances and Xpert technologies, as they tested the latest gadgets.

A rather interesting feature was the COMSATS IIT water stall, where teachers demonstrated the technicalities of a hydraulic water pump with the help of a large dummy pump.

The event showcased products by 100 local and Chinese companies.

The PCB forum aims to initiate workshops and sideline meetings with industrialists, academicians and Pakistani business community for the promotion of business activity among the two countries, said an official. Many Chinese companies are participating to promote Pak-China Business liaison, he added.

Meanwhile, at the event workshops for each day were divided into fifteen minutes sessions per topic and the second day’s workshops focused on New Energy Technologies.

While COMSATS Dr Mirza Baig focused on potential of surface gasification of coal in the country, Dr Riaz Qureshi stressed on the prospective uses of fuel cell technology.

The largest server manufacturer and server solution supplier in China, Inspur Co Ltd Chief Representative Frank Fan expressed his concern over the practice of Pakistani government and companies preferring American companies. “The problem is that people have a mindset that Chinese products are substandard, but that’s not the case,” he said. Fan explained that usually when some individuals do business with Chinese companies, they purchase the cheapest quality material available in the market and sell it at a higher price in Pakistan.

He outlined the potential of business opportunities in the developing energy sector of Pakistan. The forum, which is going on at COMSATS, will continue till April 18.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2012.