Key Facts

Area: 3,016 km
Population of Sialkot district: 3.3 m
Population of Sialkot city: 0.534 m
Total workforce: approximately 0.2 m
Annual exports: US$1.2 b
Literacy rate: 59%
Urban population: 25%
Coordinates: 322950N 743210E
City Website: www.sialkot.gov.pk
Calling code: 052
Main industries: Sports goods, surgical
instruments, leather products























Sialkot Regional Profile
Introduction
Perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Pakistans national
poet-philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Sialkot is one of the
largest cities of Pakistan, and the third largest economic hub of
Punjab, after Lahore and Faisalabad. The per capita income of
Sialkot is among the highest in the country, and almost double the
national per capita income, according to some reports. This is
mostly attributable to Sialkots emergence as an industrial core
over the past hundred years or so.
Today, the major industries operating in Sialkot include sports
goods, leather, surgical instruments, beauty care instruments,
cutlery, hunting equipment, fishing equipment, musical
instruments, knitwear and hosiery, footwear, textiles, beverages,
dairy products, pharmaceuticals, sanitary fittings, flour mills, rice
mills, sugar mills, vegetable ghee/cooking oil mills, iron and steel,
etc. The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has
6,655 registered members that operate in these businesses, while
there are also several unregistered businesses that operate
informally. Most of the members belong to the three leading
industries, i.e., sports goods, leather and surgical instruments.
Sialkot is commercially linked with the Lahore Stock Exchange
through its Sialkot branch, known as the Sialkot Trading Floor
(STF). The branches of the State Bank of Pakistan and the Export
Promotion Bureau of Pakistan are also present in Sialkot. At the
same time, SCCI is the premier trade body representing the export
oriented industry of Sialkot.
What are Sialkots growth sectors?
Sialkot is Pakistan's second largest source of foreign exchange
earnings through its exports and remittances from overseas
manpower. It is an export-oriented city, where development of
local cottage industries has assumed a model status for the
developing world. The city is populated by thousands of small and
medium-scale entrepreneurs engaged in production. Among them,
three industries are dominant, i.e., leather goods, surgical goods
and sports goods. Almost every item produced in Sialkot is export-


Sialkot Chamber of Commerce
Established in 1982
Has 6,655 members
SCCIs projects include Sialkot Dry
Port Trust, Sialkot Export
Processing Zone, Sialkot
International Airport, Sialkot
Tannery Zone, Sialkot Industrial
Development Centre, Sialkot
Business and Commercial Centre,
and numerous other projects

































-ed to international markets, due to which Sialkot earns US$1.2
billion in exports annually.
Almost 60% of the total exports of Sialkot are carried out via
Sialkots dry port, while 40% is exported from other ports like
Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, etc.
Sports Goods Industry
The city of Sialkot has been a centre of excellence for the
production of sports goods for more than 100 years. The first
record of manufacturing sports goods in Sialkot can be traced back
to 1883 with products such as cricket bats, hockey sticks, and polo
sticks. Today, the sports goods sector of Sialkot has acquired an
important place in the international trade of sports goods.
There are over 3,000 small and medium-sized sports goods
industrial units, and some 50 well established industries
functioning in and around Sialkot. SCCI has 2,002 members that
are registered as sports goods and sportswear manufacturers. The
sports goods industry is a labor-intensive industry, providing direct
and indirect job opportunities to about 100,000 workers.
Presently the sports goods industry of Sialkot is supplying products
to almost every country of the world, directly or indirectly. Total
exports of sports goods from Sialkot amounted to US$170 million
in 2009, while the export of sportswear was worth US$305 million.
This city caters to more than 70% of the total world demand for
hand-stitched inflatable soccer balls, i.e., around 40 million balls
annually, worth US$210 million. During the peak season, which
repeats every four years on the occasion of the Football World
Cup, the production of inflatable balls exceeds 60 million per
annum.
The product range includes soccer balls, volley balls, rugby balls,
beach balls, exercise balls, cricket balls, hockey balls, base balls,
tennis balls, shuttle cocks, nets, gloves, hockey sticks, cricket bats,
base ball bats, protective guards, pads, sportswear etc. Adidas,
Nike, Puma, Select, Lotto, Umbro, Mitre, Micassa, Diadora,
Wilsons, and Decathlon are some of the world renowned brands
that outsource a large portion of their production to Sialkot firms.























Leather
Sialkots leather garments and accessories sector is another crucial
foreign exchange earner for the country. This sector is mainly
scattered in two cities namely Sialkot and Karachi. In Sialkot
approximately 30,000 workers are employed in this industry.
According to SICCIs list of members, 426 firms are registered as
leather garments manufacturers, while 592 firms are registered as
gloves manufacturers. Exports of leather products were worth
US$383 million in 2009, while gloves exports were worth US$212
million.
Surgical Instruments
This industry represents manufacturers and exporters of surgical
instruments, dental instruments, veterinary instruments, tailoring
scissors, barber salon scissors and beauty salon instruments.
The surgical industry of Sialkot has a history of more than 100
years, when British doctors began to get their surgical instruments
repaired from the skilled workers of the region. These craftsmen
eventually began to successfully replicate the imported
instruments. When Sialkot started exporting surgical instruments,
for the improvement of the standard, the Metal Industries
Development Centre (MIDC) was established by the Government
in 1941.
In 1947, Sialkot inherited 17 registered surgical instruments
manufacturers. Today, there are about 2200 large, small, and
medium units with labor force ranging from 5 to 500 employees
that are involved in this industry as either manufacturers or
vendors. Many of the large setups have offices and joint ventures
in importing countries. SCCIs list of members registered as surgical
instruments manufacturers includes 1,949 firms that employ
roughly 80,000 workers and exported US$278 million worth of
merchandise in 2009.
Sialkots surgical instruments industry exports more than 95% of
its production, which includes 60% of disposable and 40% of
reusable surgical instruments, i.e. 100 million instruments
annually. Its exports are made to over 140 countries, while the US,























Germany, UK, France, Italy and UAE are the biggest customers.
Currently Sialkot is producing 2,000 surgical instruments of various
types for worldwide exports.
Facilities for Industrialists
Sialkot Export Processing Zone
Sialkot has an Export Processing Zone the countrys second EPZ
which was set up at Sambrial on the Sialkot-Wazirabad Road with a
huge investment of Rs.184 million, generated through private
entrepreneurs. The EPZ is spread over an area of 238 acres, and
there are 881 plots ranging from 4 kanals to 10 marlas in size. The
land is priced at US$5.21 per sq. meter. Another EPZ is planned
along the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway. These zones offer various
facilities, including:
100% ownership rights
One stop service, including customs clearance
Duty-free import of machinery, equipment and materials.
No duty on any material used in the construction of
buildings
Freedom from national import and exchange control
regulations of Pakistan
No restrictions on repatriation of capital and profits
No sales tax on input goods including electricity/gas bills
No minimum or maximum limit for investment
Obsolete/old machinery can be sold in the domestic
market after payment of applicable duties and taxes.
Defective goods/waste can be sold in domestic market
after payment of applicable duties, maximum up to 3% of
the total value of export
Duty free vehicles allowed under certain conditions. After
5 years of use, vehicles can be disposed off in the domestic
market on payment of duty
Dry Port
Sialkot Dry Port was established by the private sector in 1984 by
52 reputed businessmen of Sialkot and has the honour of
pioneering the concept of a privately owned dry port in Asia. The
main aim of this Dry Port was to provide the facility of Customs
Clearance to the exporters and importers of this region at their
door step.

























Education
Sialkot has a fairly well-developed educational infrastructure that
comprises a University of Engineering Sciences and Technology
(planned in cooperation with Sweden) a sub-campus of the Fatima
Jinnah Women University, a sub-campus of the Virtual University
of Pakistan, and more than twenty colleges. There are eleven
technical/vocational training institutions located in Sialkot, and the
average number of students enrolled every year in these
institutions is 5,257.
Transport
International Airport
Sialkot International Airport has the distinction of being the first
privately-owned public airport in Pakistan and South Asia, and of
having the longest runway in the region. There are direct flights to
London as well as several cities in the Middle East from this
airport. The airport represents a welcome convenience for local
and foreign business executives and other air-travelers by saving
them from long road journeys from distant international airports
in Lahore and Islamabad.

Sialkot Airport is situated at a ten minutes drive from Sambrial Dry
Port, and 25 minutes drive from Sialkot main city. Furthermore,
Gujranwala, another important industrial city, is also located just
forty minutes drive away from the airport.
Train
Currently, trains to Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Narowal and
Karachi are available daily. There are also plans to open the border
for an international train between Sialkot and Jammu.
Road
Sialkot is attached with the National Highway (N-5) through
Gujranwala and Wazirabad. From Lahore, Sialkot is about 2 hours
of driving, while from Islamabad, it is about 4 hours of driving. Bus
services are available from Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala and
Multan.









































Problems Faced by Investors in Sialkot
In 2010, Pakistan Railways stopped the Sialkot Express
train service plying between Sialkot and Rawalpindi due to
financial losses. The Sialkot business community has
expressed grave concern over this train closure, lamenting
the non-availability of railway cargo.
Owing to the stiff foreign competition faced by the surgical
industry, most of the raw material has to be imported in
order to ensure high quality of the final product. Foreign
raw materials are superior in quality to the locally
available materials, but they are much more expensive.
Sialkots export processing zone has been unable to realize
its full potential because it is located outside the city and is
therefore not easily accessible.