Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) Indicative of the growing strength of Indian private sector companies in the defence manufacturing sector, automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra Thursday announced a Gulf joint venture for armouring vehicles.

M&M, along with its subsidiary Mahindra Overseas Investment Company Mauritius Ltd., Arabia Holdings and Ras Al-Khaimah Transport Investments LLC signed the agreement to create a joint venture company in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE.

M&M, through its Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) division, “has, over the past six years, acquired a leadership position in India in the field of vehicle armouring and brings to the joint venture its considerable experience in the design and development of ballistic kits for vehicle protection”, a company statement said.

The JV will cater to the high potential markets of West and Central Asia as well as Africa. It will launch a number of MDS’ armoured vehicles such as the Marksman, the up-armoured Scorpio and cash-in-transit vans that have been very successful in India, the statement said.

“The JV is being set up in the UAE because of the low cost of manufacturing in the free zone of Ras Al-Khaimah and owing to its proximity to the GCC countries and African and Central Asian countries, ensuring easy access to these markets,” the statement said.

Arabia Holdings Ltd. has diverse business presence in the UAE in transportation, logistics and real estate. It is based out of Ras Al Khaimah and brings with it expertise in exporting armoured vehicles from the local markets, together with its existing relationship with various agencies.

Ras-Al-Khaimah Transport Investments LLC has been established by the Ras-Al-Khaimah Transport Authority for partnering with Mahindra and Arabia in the JV.