AGL 40.00 Increased By ▲ 1.22 (3.15%)
AIRLINK 196.50 Increased By ▲ 2.21 (1.14%)
BOP 10.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-4.52%)
CNERGY 7.09 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (3.2%)
DCL 10.55 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (3.53%)
DFML 43.75 Increased By ▲ 0.62 (1.44%)
DGKC 106.27 Increased By ▲ 9.66 (10%)
FCCL 39.35 Increased By ▲ 1.28 (3.36%)
FFBL 80.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.83 (-1.02%)
FFL 14.11 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.57%)
HUBC 120.94 Increased By ▲ 1.96 (1.65%)
HUMNL 14.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.27%)
KEL 6.17 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (7.49%)
KOSM 8.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-3.42%)
MLCF 49.80 Increased By ▲ 3.26 (7%)
NBP 74.89 Decreased By ▼ -2.34 (-3.03%)
OGDC 197.20 Increased By ▲ 2.42 (1.24%)
PAEL 34.80 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.17%)
PIBTL 8.53 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.79%)
PPL 176.50 Increased By ▲ 1.93 (1.11%)
PRL 33.25 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.24%)
PTC 25.55 Increased By ▲ 0.98 (3.99%)
SEARL 121.04 Increased By ▲ 11.00 (10%)
TELE 9.90 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (11.24%)
TOMCL 35.29 Increased By ▲ 0.46 (1.32%)
TPLP 12.69 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (8.55%)
TREET 19.00 Increased By ▲ 0.44 (2.37%)
TRG 60.20 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.23%)
UNITY 39.25 Increased By ▲ 2.76 (7.56%)
WTL 1.83 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (4.57%)
BR100 11,734 Increased By 33.5 (0.29%)
BR30 36,109 Increased By 697.8 (1.97%)
KSE100 110,070 Increased By 1016.5 (0.93%)
KSE30 34,143 Increased By 294.3 (0.87%)
Editorials Print 2019-10-24

Yusuf Shirazi: an entrepreneur par excellence

Yusuf Hussain Shirazi is no more and Pakistan's business world is so much the poorer with the loss of one of its leading lights. Born into a farming family of Sahiwal (formerly Montgomery in Punjab), Shirazi had no penchant for agriculture and chose the C
Published October 24, 2019

Yusuf Hussain Shirazi is no more and Pakistan's business world is so much the poorer with the loss of one of its leading lights. Born into a farming family of Sahiwal (formerly Montgomery in Punjab), Shirazi had no penchant for agriculture and chose the Civil Service as vocation after completion of his education from the famous Foreman Christian College of Lahore and the Punjab University. He served in the Pakistan Taxation Service for eight years. Thereafter, he turned his attention to becoming an entrepreneur. The transition from bureaucracy to business was not without hiccups; he had only half a million rupees in capital with which he established Shirazi Investments Limited. His close friend Mian Muhammad Yahya was a source of great help in the initial stages of his business endeavours who made him a director in his Nishat Industries that is now managed by his son Mian Muhammad Mansha.

Shirazi set up a motorcycle assembly unit in erstwhile East Pakistan and subsequently established another assembling plant to manufacture Honda motorbikes in Karachi. With sheer hard work and perseverance, he grew his businesses at a steady pace in allied fields of automobile engineering with shares of most of his listed companies becoming blue chips in the stock market. Shirazi was widely known for his frequent engagements at intellectual levels, expressing his strong and often divergent views on topics ranging from free market to protectionism, and from industrialization to international lending agencies.

It was his dynamism and strong progressive outlook that earned his hitherto rare honour of continuing as President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry for another term after he had completed his term. To further broaden his horizons he often attended courses offered by the Harvard Business School and the Harvard University. He was credited with establishing the Harvard Club of Pakistan and the Harvard Business Club of Pakistan. He was an avid art collector and an author of seven books and innumerable articles in newspapers and journals. He would always be remembered for his entrepreneurial creativity which was about coming up with innovative ideas and turning them into value-creating profitable business activities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

Comments

Comments are closed.