KARACHI: Millat Tractors Ltd (MTL) said on Thursday it can possibly join the consortium that is setting up a greenfield plant for the assembly and sale of Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in the one-tonne range.

MTL informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday that its board of directors has authorised the company’s CEO and director to initiate discussions with the consortium.

Nishat Mills Ltd has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with HMC of South Korea and Sojitz Corporation of Japan for negotiating and establishing a framework to set up a greenfield project for the assembly of HMC passenger and one-tonne-range commercial vehicles.

Earlier, an analyst at Topline Securities estimated the project’s overall cost at around $150-200 million with a lead time of three years. He said Pakistan’s car penetration of 13 vehicles per 1,000 people (significantly lower than the regional average of 162) means there is a strong potential for automobile growth.

Lucky Group is also entering the auto market in partnership with Kia, another automaker from South Korea. Observers say that the new auto policy announced last year is yielding results and luring investors.

Published in Dawn February 17th, 2017