Zardari invites Japan’s auto parts giant to invest in Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday invited Toyota Tshusho, a leading Japanese auto parts giant, to invest in Pakistan, as automobile sector in Pakistan is flourishing with the passage of time.
He said that Pakistan is providing attractive investment opportunities and security to foreign investors in various sectors and has set up a special economic zone at an area of 2000 acres near Karachi for Japanese investors.
He was talking to Junzo Shimizu, President Toyota Tsuhsho (Trading House dealing in supply of auto spare
parts), who along with Executive of Toyota Corporation called on him here.
The President said, Pakistan offered attractive facilities to foreign investors, a land of 170 million people with cheap and skilled labour force as well as liberal export incentives offered great opportunities to Japanese investors.
He said that Pakistan would prove a hub for foreign investors from where they can export their products to Central Asia, China, India and Middle East while Pakistani people would get employment opportunities.
The President said that Japan was one of Pakistan’s trading partners, urging for further enhancing trade and commercial ties for mutual benefits of the two countries.
The President said that Pakistan needs better trade terms with foreign investors and seeks resources and support of Japanese entrepreneurs to access its products to the international markets.
President Zardari said that Pakistan’s major imports from Japan are motor vehicles and their parts and machinery where power generators and textile machinery constitute the main proportion of machinery import.
President Toyota Tsusho, Junzo Shimjizu said that their company would take benefits from the attractive and liberal policies of the Government of Pakistan and would invest in auto spare parts sector.
Japan is the fourth largest investment partner of Pakistan with cumulative investment of US $ 385.9 million during 1989-90 to 2003-2004, constituting five percent of the total investment in Pakistan.
The big surge of investment observed in 1995-96 in Independent Power Producers (IPP) projects.
The Japanese investment recovered and increased by seven percent during 2002-03 to 2003-04 due to the increase of investment in the automobile sector.
The Japanese investment in the automobile sector grew by more than 5.5 times in 2003-04 in comparison with the previous year (2002-03) to meet the great domestic demand of the automobiles.
Major sectors of Japanese investment are joint venture projects mainly in automobile sector. For example Pak-Suzuki Motor (Suzuki), Indus Motor (Toyota), Honda Atlas Cars (Honda), Gandhara Nissan Diesel (Nissan Diesel), Hino Pak Motors (Hino).