ISLAMABAD – Malaysian car manufacturing company Proton will establish a factory in Pakistan, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced Thursday.
Dr Mohamad, who will be the Guest of Honour at the Pakistan Day Parade on March 23 (Saturday), also handed over the key of a Proton car to PM Imran Khan during a ground-breaking ceremony at Pakistan-Malaysia Investment Conference in Islamabad.
https://twitter.com/RadioPakistan/status/1109062068995588098
Prior to the announcement, both leaders had an in-depth discussion on efforts to increase trade relations between the two countries.
The announcement of a car assembly plant comes on the back of the Malaysian prime minister’s three-day visit to the country on the invitation of PM Imran.
Proton Holdings will collaborate with Alhaj Automotive Private Limited, a local partner, to establish a manufacturing assembly plant in Karachi, its first in the South Asian region.
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The Malaysian-based corporation, Proton was established in 1983 and has so far sold 3 million cars. Proton cars are sold in more than 25 countries including Britain, Singapore and Australia.
It will start production in Pakistan next summers.
An agreement was inked by Proton and Alhaj Automotive in 2018, according to Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Ikram Mohammad Ibrahim.
Ibrahim further said the construction of the car plant was one of the important elements of bilateral trade and investment relationship between the two countries as Proton was Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s brainchild during his first tenure as prime minister.
Last year, the total trade between Malaysia and Pakistan stood at RM5.91 billion, which was an increase of 2.5 per cent compared to RM5.76 billion in 2017.
Pakistan is Malaysia’s largest export market in South Asia and the third for import destination. In terms of bilateral trade, Malaysia is Pakistan’s 16th largest trading partner last year.
