11 April 2004	Sunday	20 Safar 1425

KARACHI, April 10: Director general and board member of the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA), Sharjah, Dr Rashid Al Leem, has invited Pakistani businessmen to invest in the zone as it offers attractive incentives.

In a meeting with members of the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) on Friday, he said investment incentives offered in the free zone included: 100 per cent ownership, both for setting up branch of an existing company or for a new business; 100 per cent import and export tax exemption; 100 per cent exemption from all commercial levies; 100 per cent repatriation of capital and profits and; no corporate and personal income taxes. Moreover, lease is available for up to 25 years and renewable for a further 25 years.

Accompanied by Hadi Kassem, marketing manager of the HFZA, the director general said the branch of an existing company could be established at the zone for which no advance payment of any capital was required and added that only an undertaking from the original company would have to be produced. However, for establishing a new business, minimum capital requirement is $40,000, which would not be blocked and could be utilized for any purpose such as payment of salaries and other expenses.

He said that every application for the establishment of a project is approved within 24-hours and added that warehouse facilities could also be obtained by the investors.

KATI chairman Mian Zahid Hussain raised a number of queries regarding re-export of goods, which are imported from Pakistan and re-packed at the HFZ and the period for which the imported goods could be stored at the warehouse free of charge, says a press release of the KATI.

Dr Rashid said that there was no restriction on re-export and that the goods could be stored for one month free of charge. In reply to another query, he said that there was no problem in issuing visa for the employees of the investors, the number of which would depend on the size of office being established.