Joint ventures: Haier-Ruba plans expansion, investment of $1.5b

Company CEO looking to take advantage of Chinese partnership, CPEC.

LAHORE: The Pakistani society is quickly adapting to technological change. Be it the spectrum auction that marked the arrival of 3G, 4G services or wireless appliances making their way into the mainstream, Pakistanis are slowly coming of age. Similarly, awareness among people of electronic appliances has also increased the demand of these products.

This trend has been taken into account by businesses as an opportunity to invest in the Pakistani market and derive high rewards.

Haier-Ruba group is a company that has shown an exponential growth rate since its inception in the country. The group deals in many businesses ranging from polyester yarn, electronic appliances, power generation, real estate and automobile business.

Recently, its primary achievement can be attributed to the successful development of the Haier-Ruba Economic Zone (HREZ) with the support of Chinese authorities.



The HREZ is located near Lahore and is spread at 300 acres, but it is looking to expand especially after the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) breakthrough.

Haier-Ruba President and CEO Faisal Shah Afridi said the company is looking to buy more land, increase investments and target a wider market .

“We need more land around the motorway and are willing to buy 3,000-5,000 acres of land at market price,” Afridi said.

The HREZ is a part of the CPEC and Afridi expressed hope that this will prove to be a gateway for other Chinese industrialists to venture into Pakistan.

Afridi said that Haier-Ruba also plans to establish regional zones in Pakistan.

“Currently, under HREZ, we are have undertaken 11 projects, the annual turnover of these is $800 million,” said Afridi. “We are planning to invest another $1.5 billion in the next five years for our future ventures.”

The background

Ruba Group’s partnership with Haier dates back to 2001 when a company was established through a joint venture.

After the initial success and rising demand of electronic appliances, Haier Pakistan was set up in 2006, to further diversify its product line with another investment of $0.5 million kicking in later. Currently, the company boasts of annual turnover of Rs46 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2015.

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