LAHORE: German automobile giants Renault and Volks Wagon are keenly interested in setting up assembly plants in Pakistan to cater to the domestic and regional demand of vehicles.
Almas Hayder, Chairman of Technology Upgradation and Skill Development Company (TUSDC) while talking to The News from Hanover, Germany said; that representative of both the companies visited the pavilion of Pakistani companies at the fair and were impressed by the fast developing auto engineering sector of the country.
Almas said that only five companies from Pakistan had attended this international show last year but following an organised effort 35 exhibitors and about 90 delegates are visiting the Hanover Fair this year and negotiating with German and other international companies.
He said that many other German companies like Bosch and Lego have also shown their interest of starting joint venture with Pakistani companies to expand their production base as well as market access.
Almas said that political leadership of Germany is encouraging its companies to enter into joint ventures with Pakistani firms, which would be a great leap forward for the country’s engineering sector as Germany is considered the mother of engineering technology in the world.
He concluded: "German companies are also interested in establishing supply chain links with Pakistani companies. Therefore, a follow up delegation from Pakistan will visit Germany in September 2005 to explore further possibilities of co-operation as well as materialising the undertaking reached with each other during the current event."
(The News: April 17, 2005)