Chinese Group Keen to Enter JVs for Upgradation of Pak Spinning Mills

Chinese group has shown keen interest to enter joint ventures for modernisation and upgradation of Pakistan's spinning mills to make them cost efficient and competitive. Also 80 percent of yarn and other textile products will be re-exported to China for value-addition to sell the finished good at better prices in international market, Pakistani businessmen were informed by Executive Director of the Hi-Tech Group who is leading a six member delegation.

Chinese delegation from China's Hi-Tech Group, a state-owned company dealing in textile and energy generation machinery who is on 5 day visit to Pakistan from September 17. On Tuesday they visited Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and had sector specific detailed discussion with their counterparts to upgrade Pakistan's textile industry especially the spinning mills.

On Wednesday, they would fly to Lahore for business sessions with the textile industry people.

They wanted to start with installing one million spindles at least at one spinning mill, which was the lowest benchmark for a spinning mill in China. While, in Pakistan majority spinning mills have spindles only in hundreds. For such large size spinning mills, China's Hi-Tech Group would help set up power plants to meet its power consumption demand at very reasonable price. Spinning mills are the largest power consuming industry.

Head of the Chinese delegation also informed that China wanted to relocate its textile units to Pakistan to benefit from Pakistan's low paid and well-experienced textile labour. Chinese investors were ready to set up their textile mills in Pakistan, mostly under joint ventures, especially at Special Economic Zones linked to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

They can contribute in power supply at very good price. There can be very good partnership in spinning mills and power plants owners. He further added that give them land and they will bring textile machinery.

He claimed that China's textile machinery was more suitable for Pakistan as compared to Germany and Switzerland.

The FPCCI acting president Manzoorul Haq Malik assured the Chinese delegates that they would pursue their initiatives with the textile related FPCCI members in the country. They will work together on this programme. Dr Baig who led the FPCCI team recalled that China's Hi-Tech Group had supplying machinery to Pakistan's textile sector for the last 25 years.

FPCCI acting president Manzoorul Haq Malik and senior leader of FPCCI and a leading textile industrialist and exporter Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig along with other senior businessmen were present at the discussion held with the Chinese team at the federation house.