ISLAMABAD: A leading Chinese company has expressed interest in investing in Pakistan’s renewable energy sector by setting up an industry, said an official statement on Saturday, prompting a senior minister to observe the step will lead to greater employment opportunities and increase the country’s exports.
China’s Hexing Electrical is a reputable mid-sized company that was founded in 1992 and is primarily known for its presence in the global smart metering and energy management industry. The Chinese company has also expanded its business into the renewable energy sector and is involved in the manufacturing of technical equipment.
Its chairman, Liangzhang Zhou, met Pakistan’s minister for investment and privatization, Abdul Aleem Khan, along with his company delegation in the federal capital, Islamabad, to discuss the possibility of setting up the first manufacturing unit of its kind in the country to produce inverters and batteries.
The development comes nearly two months after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went to China on a five-day visit where, apart from the political leadership, he met with representatives of Chinese companies operating in various economic sectors and encouraged them to invest in his country.
“The establishment of new factories will increase the rate of employment and export in the country and once again boost the national economy as well,” he was quoted as saying in a statement circulated by the ministry after the meeting.
Khan highlighted the investment potential in Pakistan, assuring the Chinese business delegation of full cooperation.
He also maintained that the establishment of factories in the electrical sector with foreign investment would serve as a precursor to the country’s economic development.
The chairman of the Chinese company said his organization was serving 90 countries with a workforce of 7,000, though it had only established such factories in 20 states around the world.
The governments in Islamabad and Beijing have already been working on infrastructure development and regional connectivity projects under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The two countries hope the private sector will take the lead in the next CPEC phase and benefit from the planned industrial zones in Pakistan through business-to-business collaboration and investments.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police have imposed a ban on public gatherings in the federal capital in view of “elevated security concerns,” Pakistani state media reported on Saturday.
The South Asian country has been witnessing a surge in militant attacks, including a string of coordinated assaults launched last Sunday that killed more than 50 people in the southwestern Balochistan province.
To prohibit any public gathering, the Islamabad police said they had imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a provision that allows authorities to prohibit assembly of four or more people.
“These restrictions are designed to maintain public order and ensure the safety of all citizens,” an Islamabad police spokesperson was quoted as saying by the state-run APP news agency.
The report did not specify how long the restriction would be in place.
The development also comes a week before a rally by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party in Islamabad on September 8. The rally was initially planned for July to build pressure for Khan’s release from prison following his arrest over a year ago, but the party had rescheduled it for August 22.
The PTI once again postponed the gathering this month after the Islamabad administration denied permission for the event, citing security threats and a lack of resources with security agencies.
The capital police urged the public to avoid participating in any “unauthorized” political activities that could disrupt the law-and-order environment, according to the APP report.
“We ask everyone to cooperate with these measures to help us maintain peace and security,” the police spokesperson said.