ISLAMABAD, Sept 21 (INP): China’s RUYI Group has planned to invest Dollar 5 billion to boost Pakistan’s textile exports, Gwadar Pro reported on Saturday. The company’s senior management team visited here the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and announced their plan for the investors and to establish two export-oriented Green (Zero Emission) textile cities in Lahore and Karachi. According to Jamil Qureshi, Secretary of SIFC, the group will collaborate with 25 leading companies from the China Textile Council and China Garments Association.  With an anticipated investment of around USD 5 billion, the project is expected to generate significant annual value and boost Pakistan’s textile exports by up to USD 10 billion. Earlier, a nine-member delegation from RUYI Group, led by Chairman Qiu Yafu, met with Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif. 

The group plans to establish international standard textile parks in Pakistan, aiming to increase the country’s textile exports and position Pakistan as a global textile and garment hub. These textile parks are projected to create employment opportunities for 300,000 to 500,000 locals. The prime minister praised the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China, noting that their economic ties grow stronger each day. He welcomed the Chinese textile group to Pakistan, commending their investment in the country’s textile sector.  He also highlighted that this firm was the first investor in the Sahiwal Coal Power Plant, a project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The meeting also decided to form working groups in Islamabad and Beijing to address issues between Pakistan and the Chinese enterprises. The Chinese textile group is a large-scale Sino-foreign joint venture enterprise with diversified shareholders.

It boasts the largest woollen garment and cotton dyeing industry chain in China and consistently contributes to the textile industry through its advanced technology.  Currently, the group’s brand matrix includes more than 6,000 stores worldwide, operating in 84 countries and regions, making it the most influential Chinese enterprise in the global fashion field. According to the Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan’s textile and apparel exports rose by 0.93 percent to USD16.655 billion during the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24 July-June), marking a small gain from USD 16.501 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. The textile sector had earlier faced economic challenges but showed improvement in the later months.  The sector contributed 54.29 percent to Pakistan's overall exports of USD 30.676 billion from July 2023 to June 2024.  However, the share of the textile sector declined from its 59.52 percent share in the same period of the 2022-23 fiscal.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China