BEIJING: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today witnessed an exchange of documents that will facilitate the rollout of Proton vehicles from a new assembly plant in Pakistan.
The licensing and technical agreement documents for the Proton assembly project in Pakistan were exchanged between Proton Holdings Berhad and Al-Haj Automotive.
There was also an exchange of documents between Proton and China Construction Bank for financing, which will see Proton receiving RM1.888 billion in loans for research and development, technological transformation and factory expansion.
Proton chairman Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar said the national carmaker is confident of a turnaround with the introduction of new cars.
"Proton must continue to expand its presence internationally.
"We have our founding father with us to show his relentless support to help make this dream a reality."
He said the collaboration is a good model under the Belt and Road Initiative for three-party cooperation between Malaysia, Pakistan and China.
Proton has officially announced that it will set up a new local assembly plant in Pakistan, which will be owned and operated by Al-Haj Automotive. This comes after the national carmaker entered into an agreement with Al-Haj back in Aug 29, 2018.
The plant will be built at a greenfield site in Karachi with an initial investment of US$30 million (about RM121.9 million), and is expected to commence operations before the end of 2020.
The first car is expected to be produced in June.
Around 2,000 direct employment opportunities will be created within the plant’s first three years of operations, with a further 20,000 indirect jobs made available. Furthermore, as part of the agreement, Al-Haj will also be the sole distributor for Proton vehicles in Pakistan.
The Proton joint venture was the centrepiece of a series of agreements signed during Dr Mahathir's visit to Pakistan in March.
Pakistani officials said the deals would total around US$800 to US$900 million.
With Proton aiming to sell 400,000 units yearly by 2027 as part of its “seven stars” strategy, export sales and the establishment of CKDs (completely knocked down) assembly plants in overseas markets represent an important step to achieve that figure.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who was present at the event, said the move will help ensure Proton continues to expand, penetrate the international market, and increase exports overseas.
"Pakistan is a good market to begin with. They will continue to develop and expand their investment in research and development."