Foreign investor Bestway Group donates Rs600mn to fight COVID-19 in Pakistan

LONDON: Pakistan’s leading foreign investor Bestway Group has provided financial and material support to the people of Pakistan of more than PKR 600 million in the four months to April 2020, including a cheque for PKR 200 million presented to the Prime Minister for the COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Fund.

In a statement released by Bestway here, the Group CEO Lord Zameer Choudrey, CBE SI Pk said: “Let me reassure the people of Pakistan on behalf of our Chairman Sir Anwar Pervez, OBE that we are conscious of our responsibility as the largest overseas Pakistani investor and Inshallah will not let our country down in its hour of need. In the four months to April 2020, our Group has spent more than PKR 600 million on COVID relief and CSR activities. More resources will be devoted as and when necessary”.

Bestway Group has made these contributions through its key subsidiaries in Pakistan, Bestway Cement Limited and United Bank Limited as well as its charitable arm, Bestway Foundation. The statement said: “The Group has been working in partnership with the country’s leading healthcare providers and have donated ventilators and vital medical supplies to hospitals across the country. The Group is also working actively within its local communities across the country and providing thousands of much-needed food packages and financial assistance to deserving families.”

The statement added: “This is in addition to the extensive charitable work Bestway Group undertakes in the ordinary course. Under the stewardship of Lord Choudrey, Bestway Group has thus far donated in excess of US$ 21 million to the health and education sectors in Pakistan. On an annual basis, it also provides free medical treatment to over 35,000 individuals at its purpose-built Basic Health Units. Over 5,000 school children receive free education at Bestway Foundation’s own and funded educational.”

It further added: “The Group is also focused on education initiatives and is in the process of renovating nine schools in the Chakwal District. Lord Choudrey has also played an instrumental role in the establishment of dedicated scholarships for Pakistani students at world-class universities in the UK such as Oxford, Kent & Bradford.

Lord Choudrey acknowledged the contribution of the Group’s employees in providing these vital services and said “none of this would have been possible without our employees who have played and continue to play a pivotal role in these challenging circumstances and have worked tirelessly to ensure we are servicing our local communities. The health and safety of our colleagues is of paramount importance and we are providing all necessary facilities and support to ensure that they remain safe and well. I am extremely proud of how they have come together in the face of adversity”.