As a part of his three-day visit to Pakistan, the UK Minister for Trade Policy Greg Hands visited GlaxoSmithKline’s factory in Karachi to see first-hand how major British investors, like GSK, are successfully doing business in Pakistan, supporting the Pakistani economy and creating jobs whilst making good returns on investment.
Whilst touring the state of the art facility at F268 S.I.T.E area, the minister heard first-hand how GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pakistan, created in 2001, stands today as the largest pharmaceutical company in Pakistan, making a difference to people’s lives every day and employing over 2300 people in Pakistan.
The Minister of State for Trade Policy, Greg Hands, said:
“As I’ve seen on my visit, it’s clear Pakistan presents huge opportunities for UK businesses with its infrastructure investment and growing consumer base. GSK has long recognised that potential, employing 2,300 people here in Karachi and throughout Pakistan and exporting pharmaceuticals across the region.
“By doubling the financial support available to UK companies to help them do business in Pakistan to £400 million, through UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK government is determined to help more British business seize the many opportunities here.”
Minister Hands visited GSK as a part of a three-day visit to Islamabad and Karachi in a bid to strengthen the UK-Pakistan bilateral trade relationship.
The minister received a tour of the state of the art facility and heard GSK’s vaccine has been in use in Pakistan EPI’s National Immunization Program since 2012, protecting millions of newborns against pneumonia since then, a second vaccine has been introduced in the program (in 2016) for Rotavirus Diarrhea.
GSK is a long established investor in Pakistan. GSK’s legacy company Glaxo Laboratories Pakistan Ltd. was the first pharmaceutical company to be listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange in 1951.
GSK Pakistan operates mainly in two industry segments: Pharmaceuticals (prescription drugs and vaccines) and consumer healthcare (over-the-counter-medicines, oral care and nutritional care). In Pakistan, the Company deals in Anti-infective, Respiratory, Vaccines, Dermatological, Gastrointestinal, Analgesics, Urology, Central Nervous System, Allergy, Cardiovascular and Vitamins therapy areas.
