Chinese pharma companies urged to establish plants in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Monday urged Chinese pharma companies to establish plants of producing raw material in Pakistan that would help in manufacturing pharmaceutical products at competitive prices.

"Pakistani pharmaceutical companies are importing raw material from China and India for manufacturing pharmaceutical products," President, ICCI Sheikh Amir Waheed said while talking to a delegation of Shannxi Province of China which visited ICCI here to explore business match makings with Pakistani counterparts.

Amir informed the Chinese delegation that many industrial zones would be set up in Pakistan under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Chinese investors should put up manufacturing plants through joint ventures in areas of their interest in these SEZs.

He said Chinese investment in Pakistan would enable them to enhance exports to South and Central Asia, Middle East, Africa and many other markets.

The delegation was representing various companies of Shaanxi province including Shaanxi Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Co., Ltd, Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group Co Ltd, Shaanxi Automobile Group Coal Ltd and others.

The delegation members said that this was their first visit to Pakistan to study Pakistani market.

They showed interest for business match makings and joint ventures with Pakistani counterparts in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, automobile, engineering, communication and solar energy sectors.

The delegation members stressed for frequent interaction between the private sectors of China and Pakistan to understand each other and establish business collaborations.

The representatives of Shaanxi Pharmaceuticals Group said that their company was exporting pharma products to over 200 countries and it wanted to explore business prospects in Pakistan.

The representatives of automobile group said they were already supplying heavy trucks to Pakistan and were looking for partners in Pakistan to supply more trucks.

The delegation members also invited ICCI members to visit Shaanxi Province to explore business collaborations. The ICCI President stressed the need of developing strong business linkages between the corporate sector and SMEs of Pakistan and China so that they could complement each other and achieve mutually beneficial business outcomes.

Nisar Mirza Vice President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry assured that ICCI would play the role of bridge to connect the Chinese investors with right partners in Pakistan.