BAT says bringing investment to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The British American Tobacco (BAT) on Wednesday explained that it was bringing investment to Pakistan but not closing its business in Malaysia. The BAT has contradicted the statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and explained its position in clear terms by stating that it would bring investment to Pakistan but was not closing down its operation in Malaysia.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, the BAT stated that with reference to the news published on 23rd December 2020, regarding British American Tobacco (BAT) setting up its Shared Business Services in Pakistan, a few newspapers mentioned shifting of these operations from Malaysia to Pakistan.

This statement is factually incorrect and BAT would like to clarify that the set-up is being established in parallel to its business in Malaysia, which will serve the Asia Pacific and Middle East Region.

This development would add Pakistan to the list of countries like Malaysia, Romania and Costa Rica where BAT operates its service hubs for servicing 180 entities across the globe for finance, human resources, information technology and other functions.

BAT’s investment in Pakistan will create thousands of jobs over the next five years and would also serve as a talent incubator creating global career prospects and generating USD100 million annually in service exports initially, with potential to increase further in future.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood praised the management of PTC for having accomplished this task because it was the first time after many years that a multinational had shifted its Shared Services Hub to Pakistan. Dawood announced that the Government of Pakistan will facilitate the company in fulfilling the legal and regulatory requirements for establishing the organization. He hoped that this would encourage other multinational subsidiaries in Pakistan to make efforts with their principals for moving such shared services organizations to Pakistan, the statement concluded.