Saudi Minister of Agriculture Fahd Bin Abdulrahman Al-Ghunaim is expected to lead a 35-member delegation of Saudi investors to Pakistan to explore investment potential, Sarfraz Ahmad, Pakistani trade counsel, told Saudi Gazette. Saudi businessmen have shown interest in investing in Pakistan's agriculture sector to grow rice, wheat, barley, maize, soybean and animal food. They require at least 500,000 acres of land for this purpose. Pakistan Bureau of Investment has already taken up the issue with the Ministry of Agriculture to meet the Saudi requirement. A Saudi company has been established with the help of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) with an initial capital of $800 million. In another massive investment in the agriculture sector, Abbar and Zainy group of Saudi Arabia and Javed Zia & Company have agreed to invest in a joint venture. They have agreed to acquire 50,000 hectare of land in Pakistan for growing rice, wheat, barley and maize, said Sarfaraz Ahmad. Another Saudi company, Prime Basic Chemical (Pvt) Ltd, has agreed to establish a petrochemical complex in Pakistan with the help of other major stakeholders at an estimated cost of $5 billion.
