B2B agricultural cooperation: Chinese company signs MoU with Pak firm

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Asia Pak Investment -- a company owned by son of the former ISPR DG Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa -- inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China's Optima Integration Group on Monday to strengthen B2B agricultural cooperation between the two nations.

The MoU was signed under the auspices of the Board of Investment (BoI). Board of Investment Chairman Chaudhry Salik Hussain was the chief guest guest. BoI Secretary Fareena Mazhar was also present.

Sam Siu, Chairman of Optima Integration Group, and Eusha Saleem Bajwa, CEO of Sino Pak Optima Technologies (SPOT), signed the agreement. Eusha Saleem Bajwa is the son of the former ISPR DG Lt-Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa, a senior official of the BoI confirmed.

The federal minister appreciated the interest of the Chinese side in the agriculture and livestock sector of Pakistan, particularly, fish and seafood industry. The minister said the establishment of the Pakistan-China Business and Investment Forum (PCBIF), is the result of joint efforts of the Board of Investment (BOI), the Chinese Embassy, and the All-Pakistan Chinese Enterprises’ Association (APCEA).

The project between the signing parties will comprise setting up an end-to-end supply chain for seafood export (79 species of fish are approved by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) for export from Pakistan to China) to be produced in Pakistan and transported to China for consumption there.

It will include a high-tech processing facility and related technology transfer. In the first phase, the estimated investment will be around $50 million and it would create more than 100 jobs in Gwadar and Karachi in the fishing, power, and logistics sectors. The project will expand from fish to beef and goat in the long run – starting with exporting beef with cold chain transport, then scaling with standard Chinese breeding, feedlot operations, vaccinations, track and trace technology, and slaughter and pack facilities Karachi.