New Delhi (NVI): In a first, a Chinese liquor company has established a manufacturing plant and started production of beer in the industrial town of Hub in Balochistan province of Pakistan, in order to cater to the requirements of hundreds of Chinese nationals working at various projects launched across the Muslim majority nation, a Pakistan media report said.
Chinese liquor company, Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited, was granted licence in 2018 for making beer, reports the Dawn. The company has formally started its beer production last week, reportedly to cater to the beer requirements of Chinese nationals working at various projects in Balochistan, as well as across Pakistan.
Pertinent to mention here that a number of Chinese nationals are working in different areas of Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and mines and mineral projects in Balochistan.
According to the Pakistan daily, the company had been granted a licence which it had applied for in 2017. “The company registered itself with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on April 30, 2020, after completing installation of liquor plant in Hub town,” the Dawn reported.
“The company formally started its beer production last week, which product will be supplied to Chinese nationals working at various projects launched in different areas of Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and mines and mineral projects in Balochistan,” Mohammad Zaman Khan, director general, Excise and Taxation South, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
According to Khan, for getting the licence, the company had pleaded that the beer and liquor brand which the company produces in China is not available in Pakistan.
Pertinent to mention here that in Pakistan, where majority of the population is Muslim, alcohol is banned. However, there are some exceptions for its use among the non-Muslim population in the country which is very small.
Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited, which is famous for producing some of the world’s most famous liquor brands, made an investment of Rs 3 million for installing a modern liquor plant on a five-acre plot of land in Hub, reports the Dawn.
Both China and the Pakistan government are working hand in glove to plunder the resources in Balochistan in the garb of progress and CPEC. Also, Beijing has announced announcement of the USD 50 billion for the project, which plans to connect Gwadar port in Pakistan’s Balochistan province to Xinjiang in China.
-PRT/ARK
