TOKYO: Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar met with a high level delegation of Yamaha Motor Corporation. The delegation was led by Motorcycle Business Operations, Senior Executive Officer Katsuaki Watanabe. The finance minister welcomed the decision of Yamaha Motors to start business in Pakistan, taking advantage of the new-entrant policy of the government. He informed the delegation that Pakistan offered excellent business and investment opportunities with low labor costs, geographical proximity to the Middle East and Central Asian Republics and South Asia as well as incentives for foreign investors.
He wished Yamaha delegation the best in its business endeavors in Pakistan and assured that any issues faced by them would be resolved soon. He asked the Yamaha delegation to further market Pakistan by spreading the word about Pakistan’s investment conditions amongst other Japanese companies. The Yamaha delegation briefed the Finance Minister about the progress of work on its motor cycle manufacturing plant.
Dar was informed that the plant would produce 31,000 units in the first year with a localization of 25 percent. He was further informed that Yamaha would achieve 55 per cent localization in three years and 85 per cent in five years. Yamaha delegation stated that they would bring new value to Pakistani market and increase the competitiveness of its industry. Yamaha would initially focus on the domestic Pakistani market and target exports at a later stage.
It was decided that the inauguration of the Yamaha motor cycle manufacturing plant would take place in April this year and that Yamaha president would visit Pakistan on the occasion. The meeting was also attended by the Board of Investment Chairman, the Pakistan Ambassador in Tokyo and other senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and Pakistan Embassy.
