Here’s Why Chinese Liquor Company Was Allowed to Operate in Pakistan

A Chinese liquor company has been granted a manufacturing license to start alcohol production in order to cater to the needs of only Chinese citizens working on CPEC projects in Pakistan.

Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited, the Chinese liquor company in question, has already established a distillery plant at Lasbela Industrial Estate in Hub, Balochistan.

It must be mentioned here that liquor companies have been operating in Pakistan for years.

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The official record shows that Hui Coastal Brewery was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in April last year while Excise, Taxation, and Anti-Narcotics Department Balochistan recently granted it a manufacturing license.

According to Balochistan’s Anti-Narcotics Department, the Hui distillery plant will not only provide employment opportunities for local residents but will also generate a considerable amount of tax revenue for both the federal and Balochistan governments.

The Anti-Narcotics Department noted that concerned authorities will ensure the liquor produced at the Hui distillery plant is only delivered to Chinese citizens in Pakistan, adding that the liquor will neither be exported outside Pakistan nor be available for sale anywhere in the country.

It should be noted that despite being a Muslim majority country, not only is alcohol made in Pakistan but it is also smuggled here. Muslims are not allowed to buy it, but people from other religious minorities are issued special licenses to buy alcohol.

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Not only are large quantities of liquor smuggled into Balochistan from abroad, but there is also another distillery, Quetta Distillery Limited (QDL), operating in the Hub area. QDL distillery was earlier located in Quetta which was shifted to Hub a few years back.

When asked about the need to set up another factory in the presence of one factory already operating for a limited population of minorities, Muhammad Zaman, the Director-General of Excise, Taxation, and Anti-Narcotics Department Balochistan, said the factory aims to improve the quality of alcohol and make it according to the requirements of Chinese citizens.

He added that since 25,000 to 30,000 Chinese citizens are working on various CPEC projects and the federal government had asked the Balochistan government to issue a license to the Chinese liquor company.

DG Anti-Narcotics noted that Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited has also made a direct investment of Rs. 3 billion in Balochistan since 2018.

When questioned about the number of Chinese and Pakistani workers in the Hui distillery, DG Anti-Narcotics said that the management of the distillery is handled by 20 Chinese citizens while 140 local residents are employed there.

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He added that Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited plans to employ 150 more workers in the short term and 500 more workers in the long term.

DG Anti-Narcotics said that the beer manufactured at the Hui distillery will be supplied to Chinese citizens only. However, if the federal government allows, the beer produced at the distillery will also be exported to China and other countries.

When asked whether companies whose products are forbidden in Muslim societies should be allowed to register, Sajid Gondal, spokesperson for SECP, replied that mandate to issue manufacturing licenses to liquor companies does not belong to SECP.

SECP’s spokesperson reiterated that the commission’s job is only to keep the record of all companies operating in Pakistan and register them after they receive relevant licenses from concerned authorities.