Pakistan has announced special incentives and policies for Chinese companies as it plans to increase its annual production of automobiles that is currently standing at 250,000 units and take it up to around 6-8 million units within the span of the next five years.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Moinul Haque while speaking at the “Pakistan Automobile Industry Roundtable Seminar” said the target of 6-8 million is achievable considering the yearly growth in production. The seminar was held at the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday.
Ambassador Haque highlighted, “Pakistan is setting up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Chinese investors have been invited to set up their manufacturing units”.
He expressed happiness at the fact that various automobile companies from across the world, especially Chinese enterprises, were showing interest in investing in the vehicle segment of Pakistan. Already around 100 Chinese enterprises had either established their units in the S[ecial Economic Zones (SEZs) or were in the process of doing so.
The ambassador added, “Many Chinese companies are already operating in the automobile manufacturing sector in Pakistan while 10 new companies have shown interest in investing in the country. They are in the process of inking joint ventures with local partners in the private sector.”
He communicated to the seminar participants that the government was framing a new policy for the automobile sector and the policy will be unveiled soon. “More incentives and concessions in taxes are likely to be offered in the new policy.” He said.
The ambassador further added that automobile companies, including manufacturers of electric vehicles in China, would be invited to set up their plants in greenfield and brownfield categories.
He said that Pakistan’s automobile sector is the fastest-growing sector because of strong demand and a large population of 220 million people.
Haque said, “In the past, Japanese manufacturers had set up their production units but in recent times Chinese automobile companies have also started tapping the opportunities available in Pakistan. China is now emerging as a leading automobile manufacturer in the world with high-quality products.”
Talking about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he provided updates and said that the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) had entered into its second phase. The focus in the second phase will be on the industrialization, science, technology and agriculture sectors.
