KP businesspersons to get excellence awards

PESHAWAR: Like previous year, successful businesspersons and traders in the militancy-ravaged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will get excellence awards for extraordinary performance in exports, manufacturing and services sectors in the province.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) President Fuad Ishaq on Wednesday announced that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had been invited to give away Business Excellence Award for year 2013-14 to traders at a ceremony that would tentatively be held on May 15 at Convention Centre in Islamabad.
He said it would be the 12th Business Excellence Award that is aimed at acknowledging the achievements of the business community and traders, who stayed back and continued their businesses in the province through thick and thin.
Flanked by Muhammad Asaf, chairman of Award Committee, Fuad Ishaq told a news conference at the Chamber House that despite the worsening law and order, the traders and industrialists continued businesses through the troubled decades in the province and their courage ought to be acknowledged.
Muhammad Asaf said that 11 gold medals would be given in four sectors that would include four gold medals for industries, three for commercial and two each for services and retailer sector.
The Award Committee head said in the industrial sector, four gold medals would be given to best investor, best exporter and largest Tax or Sales Tax payer.Similarly, in commercial sector, three gold medals will be awarded in export and taxation sector, while in retail and service sector two gold medals will be awarded in Taxation sector.
For corporate social responsibility (CSR), he added, a complementary award would be given in corporate sector.In category of export and growth sector, Asaf said, the award would be given on the basis of total export (industrial/commercial) as per growth in the turnover figure for the last year.
Asaf said the telecom sector had also been included in the excellence award this year and three awards would be given to the cellular companies. First award in this category would be given to the company that issued maximum Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs), second for maximum installation of booster, and opening of good number of franchises and third the cellular companies that have given maximum jobs to the people of the province, he said.
In the banking sector, Asaf said four awards would be given on the basis of top lending (quantitative), lending deposit ratio, growth in lending (quantitative) and consumers’ facilitation.
He said three awards would be given to the commercial banks for Islamic banking on the basis of better lending as compared to the deposits, besides the expansion of their branch network in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
This year a national brand franchises award will also be given to the companies having maximum outlets in the province, while in the special category seven awards will be given in industrial and commercial sector, he added.Two awards each for new item export and new destination would be part of the excellence award.
In industrial, commercial and retail sectors, three awards will be given while two new categories — young entrepreneur and female entrepreneur awards — have also been included in the Business Excellence Award, said Asaf.