09 January 2004	Friday	16 Ziqa'ad 1424

KARACHI, Jan 8: A Saudi investment group has shown willingness to enter into a joint venture leasing setup to exclusively finance the needs of small and medium enterprises.

This willingness was expressed at a meeting between the senior executive of Hanco of Saudi Arabia and representatives of Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) held here on Thursday.

Khalid Gul, regional service manager of Hanco, requested Unisame to find partner for his company. He was of the view that the joint venture leasing setups in collaboration with the foreign partners would add breadth and depth to the fast growing leasing and financial services marketplace in Pakistan.

Mr Gul said the concept of full-service leasing, which typically includes maintenance and repair coverage facilities, would help leasing sector in Pakistan.-APP