21st MAP Convention
21st MAP Convention Challenging Times, Winning Strategies at Karachi Marriott Hotel | 28th August 2019
To mark the occasion of MAP completing 55 years of its existence, a cake cutting ceremony was held with MAP President Amir Jamil Abbasi, Executive Committee Members & Executive Director Mr. Salah Uddin on the stage.
The day followed by a mindful Keynote of Mr. S.M. Shabbar Zaidi, Chairman FBR, who declared that FBR has cautioned the retail level on the practices involving smuggling and on non-taxed imported goods flooding the market, to the great detriment of the national exchequer.
The manufacturing sector, he said, was bearing the brunt of taxation while the trade and unorganized services sector was getting off scot-free.
Mr. S.M.Shabbar Zaidi emphasized upon the delicate state of Pakistan’s economy as it comes to grips with a long overdue overhaul of the taxation system that will add value to the present dismal tax to GDP ratio.
He made it amply clear that the import led Dubai Model of economic development would not work, and if Pakistanis kept parking their money overseas, the crisis at home would no doubt go from bad to worse.
Mr. Zaidi requesting for a soul searching by the businesses said that we have been too inconsistent in our policy-making, and in the last 40 years we have divorced the Books of Accounts from the Taxation system. We do not have reliable data and the documentation of the economy remains a wishful thinking.
Mr. Zaidi spoke about the complete disharmony between the mindsets of the tax collector and the taxpayer, and said that the solution lies in fixing the system instead of reforming the individual. In this connection, the FBR had instituted reforms that simplified the process and ensured minimum interaction between the FBR officials and the taxpayers.
Following the FBR Chairman, the Deputy Governor State Bank Mr. Jameel Ahmad gave an overview of Pakistan’s monetary policy and digitization of payment systems.
A high-powered CEO Panel built upon the broad strokes of the Keynote speakers with an animated discussion on “The New Economic Paradigm – Opportunities and Challenges.”
Featuring in that bare-knuckled discourse were, Ikram Sehgal (Chairman, K-Electric & Pathfinder Group Pakistan) speaking on “The Changing Face of the Great Game and Pakistan’s Pivot with Style and Speed”; Shazad Dada (CEO, Standard Chartered Bank) on “The Rising Challenge of Compliance: How is the Banking Model being Reshaped by the New AML/KYC Regimes”; Sagheer Mufti (COO, HBL) on “Transforming for a Digital Future”; Saquib H. Shirazi (CEO Atlas Honda Ltd) on “Evolution of Manufacturing Sector in Pakistan.”
Other topics under discussion during the rest of the day included “Using Creativity in Business to Drive Success”;
“Innovation Driven Financial Inclusion”;
“People Strategies for Today and Tomorrow”; Role of Capital Markets in Economic Development of Pakistan – Challenges and Way Forward”;
“Design Your Life – Key Insights from Design Thinking and Behavioral Science”;
“Achieving Growth by Mergers and Acquisitions”; and “Reputation Management in the Digital Age.”
The event was made successful with the support from our Partners; Standard Chartered Bank, K-Electric, Jubilee Insurance, SICPA Inks, AKD Group, Al Barka Bank, Martin Dow, NBP Funds, EFU Life Assurance, HBL Assets Management, Habib Metropolitan Bank, Dalda Foods, PCI Group, Pakistan Cables, Bank Al Habib, Al Meezan Investments, IoBM, Hub Power Company Limited, Pakistan State Oil and NCCPL.
The convention summed up at a hot cup of tea with ideas flooding at a massive networking of more than 400 corporate luminaries of Pakistan.
Links to videos:
Keynote Mr. Shabbar Zaidi – https://youtu.be/btVR2iAI8YM
Keynoter Mr. Jamil Ahmed – https://youtu.be/xx8bxXd6jng
CEO Panel: https://youtu.be/3zLkKuiWfYM
