BOI enables Chinese auto makers’ entry in first private SEZ

ISLAMABAD: MG JW Automobile Pakistan Pvt Ltd has been granted admission as zone enterprise to JW SEZ, Raiwind with an estimated foreign direct investment (FDI) of Rs663 million and local investment of Rs637 million during a Special Economic Zone committee meeting.

MG JW Automobile is a joint venture between JW SEZ (Pvt) Ltd, and SMIL which was a subsidiary of SAIC Motor Corporation Limited. The entry of the company into the first private sector JW-SEZ China-Pakistan SEZ was facilitated by the Board of Investment, a statement said.

The entry as Zone Enterprise would enable China’s largest automobile manufacturer to bring electric vehicles in Pakistan.

SAIC is a Chinese state-owned automotive design and manufacturing company headquartered in Shanghai, with multinational operations. It is the largest auto manufacturer in China and the seventh largest in the world.

In 2006, SAIC purchased the prestigious British brand Morris Garages (MG) and it is now marketing automobiles under that brand all over the world. The Federal Board of Investment, Islamabad,

received the zone entry application of MG JW Automobile Pakistan through its recently launched SEZ MIS Module, which acts as a one-window for SEZs in Pakistan.

The module was designed to facilitate real investors, from all corners of the world, in getting admission into SEZs while ensuring complete transparency.

BOI Chairman Atif R Bokhari said initiation of the first private SEZ in Pakistan was a testament to the fact that government was fully committed to facilitate private investors for speedy industrialisation in the country.

BOI Secretary Fareena Mazhar said, “Launching of SEZ MIS Module is a leap into the digital future of SEZ-led industrialisation.”

She further stated that BOI was undertaking all-out efforts to facilitate private investors to invest in Pakistan.

Both local and foreign investors interested in Pakistan’s SEZs can now simply register online and submit their applications that will automatically be shared with concerned authorities.