ISLAMABAD, May 3: A French auto business delegation, currently on a visit to explore opportunities and possibilities to invest in Pakistan, held a meeting with Privatization and Investment Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh here on Tuesday. According to a handout, the minister said that Pakistan was trying hard to promote and further strengthen the existing relations with France. “There is a lot of scope for French business groups to invest in various sectors of the economy, particularly in the auto mobile industry, where our domestic production has increased and we were experiencing shortage while the companies engaged in the sector were making huge profit,” he said.

The minister said Pakistan offered equal opportunities to both local and foreign investors in all sectors of the economy without any discrimination and restriction on equity or its repatriation.

Earlier, the delegation members, Luc-Alexandre Menard, senior vice-president of the International Division, Renault, Sylvain Bilaine, designate representative of Renault Plant in Pakistan, accompanied by Francoise Maylie, deputy head of the French mission to Pakistan, while appreciating economic and investment policies of Pakistan said that normalization of relations with India was anew and historic chapter toward the progress and stability in the South Asia region.

Elucidating the investment plan by the group, they said that Renault intended to introduce Renault Logan in the Pakistani market by establishing the assembling plant of Logan Car in Pakistan with a production capacity of 15,000 automobiles per year and creating a pole of excellence allowing export of car components from Pakistan to all Renault factories related to this particular type of vehicle.

The project will attract an investment of 40 million euros with 600 job opportunities. The worldwide production of Logan will be l.2 million cars by the year 2010. The company has extended its production to central Europe, Asia and South Africa.