The latest auto policy introduced by the current government has started paying dividends as more and more auto companies are coming or returning to Pakistan. Following the announcements by other automakers like Renault and Kia Motors Co in recent past, Hyundai Motor Company has announced that it plans to set up a car assembly plant in Pakistan in a joint venture with local textile firm Nishat Mills, an official from Nishat said on Friday. Hyundai’s return to Pakistan will boost the government’s efforts to shake up the Japanese-dominated car market and loosen the grip of Toyota, Honda and Suzuki, who assemble cars in Pakistan with local partners. Both Hyundai and South Korea’s Kia Motor used to assemble cars in Pakistan until 2004 but withdrew after their local partner Dewan Farooque Motors Limited went bust.
It was not clear how much capital Hyundai, South Korea’s largest automaker, would itself invest in the Pakistani venture. Nishat Mills is a subsidiary of Nishat Group, a giant in the Pakistani banking, textiles, energy and cement sectors. Its share price rose 1.4 percent after the announcement. Nishat Mills filed a statement with the Pakistan Stock Exchange saying the deal was “subject to applicable statutory and regulatory approvals”. Last year, French carmaker Renault agreed to invest in a new factory in Pakistan and South Korean automaker Kia Motor Co said it would start assembling cars in a joint venture with Karachi-listed Lucky Cement, part of the vast conglomerate Yunus Brothers Group.
