Bestway Group Chief Executive, Zameer Choudrey has been awarded the Sitara-e-Imitiaz (Star of Excellence), conferred on him by the President of Pakistan, on the 23rd of March 2018, in recognition of his contributions to advancing Pakistan through his services and the wide array of philanthropic work. The ceremony was held at the Presidency on Pakistan Day. Sitara-e-Imtiaz is one of Pakistan’s highest civilian honours for public service. Elated by the accolade, Mr. Choudrey said “I am gratified to have been honoured by the State of Pakistan and to receive this recognition by the President.” Zameer Choudrey is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. He is an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law from University of Kent. Mr. Choudrey was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year’s Honours list for services to the wholesale industry and philanthropy by Her Majesty the Queen. He has been responsible for transforming Bestway from a predominantly wholesale business into a diversified global conglomerate. Bestway Group today consists of Pakistan’s largest cement manufacturer (Bestway Cement Limited) and Pakistan’s 2nd largest private bank (United Bank Limited), UK’s 2nd largest independent wholesaler (Bestway Wholesale), the UK’s 3rd largest retail pharmacy (Well Pharmacy). Bestway is the UK’s 8th largest private company with diverse global interests that generate a turnover of US $ 5.0 billion per annum with profit before tax of US $ 630 million per annum. The group employs 34,000 people globally out of which a workforce of 22,000 is employed in Pakistan and contributes more than US $ 425 million annually to Pakistan’s national exchequer. Zameer Choudrey chair’s the Bestway Foundation Pakistan and also chair’s the UK Advisory Council of the Prince Charles British Asian Trust. He is a founding trustee of Bestway Foundation UK and is a long serving Trustee of Crime stoppers UK and Grocery Aid UK. The philanthropic arm of the group, Bestway Foundation was established in1987 in the UK and later in 1997 in Pakistan. Certified from the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, Bestway Foundation supports many national charities, educational institutions, societies and trustsin Pakistan and abroad, in addition to supporting many natural disaster rehabilitation and relief efforts, providing free medical facilities to more than 35,000 patients in the local communities annually, while valiantly protecting and creating a healthier environment for all. Since its establishment, over 500 students have been provided scholarships to pursue higher studies abroad primarily in the UK, USA and Canada. The Bestway Foundation Pakistan annually provides 300 scholarships to students across the country. Bestway is also offering 12 fully funded scholarships every year for deserving and talented Pakistani students in the Oxford University, University of Bradford and University of Kent in the UK. Bestway employs hundreds of trainee engineers, management trainees and apprentices every year, who undergo intensive training in their respective field. Since 1998,Bestway Cement has trained over 2,500 apprentices in order to enhance the skills of the local community. To date Bestway Group has contributed nearly US $ 34 million to fund the charitable activities of national and international societies and endow projects of communal uplift in the countries in which it operates. Choudrey said, “We believe in serving the communities through providing training opportunities to the youth while creating employment opportunities for people and through supporting charitable causes for welfare of the deserving people. We want to empower the needy through education, training and self-reliance.” Published in Daily Times, March 29th 2018.