Ali Jehangir Siddiqui, Chairman JS Bank is likely to assume his office as the Pakistani ambassador to USA in coming weeks after his appointment was announced by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The decision surprised many as traditionally, the position has been held by much older people like senior diplomats, retired army generals and former civil servants with exceptional performance record.
The young businessman will focus on improving the diplomatic ties between the two countries but he will lay a special emphasis focus on strengthening business relationship with the administration of USA, utilizing his entrepreneurship expertise at the global and local level.
Talking to a ProPakistani reporter, he said Pakistani exports to USA stands at $6 billion per annum, and plans are for it to increase to up to $10 billion per annum through improving access of Pakistani products and services to the American market.
Pakistan’s exports earning from USA could be enhanced gradually through a paradigm shift of the policy of the country, which is based on investment in profitable and emerging sectors and companies of the companies operating in America rather than exporting goods and services.
Pakistani companies are capable of setting up joint-venture companies with many private American companies but they are in need of the support of the government, especially for endorsement and fast-track process of documentation.
Further, he said the volume of exports to US by existing and potential Pakistan companies will be increased in various sectors. In this connection, Pakistani companies are planned to be promoted with their strength and aggressively marketing campaigns will be rolled out to attract buying companies.
Chairman JS Bank further said that a plethora of made-in-Pakistan products could be exported to the USA markets once they are upgraded to meet high standards through value-addition of the products.
Profile of Ali Jehangir Siddiqui
Ali J. Siddiqui, is presently the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and has a status of Minister of State. He was part of the Pakistani delegation who met various CEOs of renowned companies at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting held in 2018 in Davos.
He serves as Chairman of JS Bank, which he founded through the acquisition of American Express Bank Limited’s Pakistan operations in 2006. JS Bank has a presence in 150 cities of Pakistan with over 300 branches and 4,000 employees. It has total assets of approximately Rs. 400 billion.
Mr. Siddiqui founded JS Private Equity Management (JS PE Management) and led it to become Pakistan’s largest domestic private equity asset management firm. The firm manages capital for global investors interested in investing into Pakistani businesses. Until 2017 Mr. Siddiqui served as Chairman of JS PE Management.
Between 2002 and 2003, he was an Executive Director of JS Investments, a mutual fund management firm regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
Prior to moving to Pakistan in 2002, Mr. Siddiqui worked in Hong Kong as a Director with Crosby Capital, an Asian private equity asset management firm that managed over US$ 400 million including funds managed on behalf of the Hong Kong and Korean governments.
Entrepreneurship Experience
In addition to founding JS Bank, Mr. Siddiqui has built a number of successful businesses in partnership with other entrepreneurs including Arabian Gulf Steel based in UAE, Jura Energy, and RAK Ghani Glass, the largest pharmaceutical glass producer in the Middle East.
He served as the former member of Privatisation Commission, Sindh Board of Investment, Private Sector Advisory Board of the Planning Commission, and Community Development Board of the Government of Sindh.
He received his BA in Economics from Cornell University in New York.
