Optima Integration Group, China, and Asia Pak Investments, Pakistan, in the spirit to enhance Business-to-Business (B2B) Agricultural Cooperation between Pakistan and China, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday, under the auspices of the Board of Investment (BOI).
Federal Minister BOI, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, was the chief guest of the event, and Secretary BOI, Ms. Fareena Mazhar, also participated in the ceremony.
The signatories included Chairman Optima Integration Group, Mr. Sam Siu, and CEO Sino Pak Optima Technologies (SPOT), Mr. Eusha Saleem Bajwa.
Federal Minister BOI appreciated the interest of the Chinese side in the Agriculture and Livestock sector of Pakistan, particularly, Fish and Seafood industry.
The Minister informed the participating parties about the establishment of the Pakistan-China Business and Investment Forum (PCBIF), which is the result of joint efforts of the BOI Chinese Embassy and All-Pakistan Chinese Enterprises’ Association (APCEA) and comprises leading Pakistani and Chinese companies.
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 $50Million and will create more than 100 jobs in Gwadar and Karachi in the Fishing, Power, and Logistics sectors.
In the long run, the project will expand from fish to beef and goat – starting with exporting beef with cold chain transport, then scaling with Chinese standard breeding, feedlot operations, vaccinations, track and trace technology, along with slaughter and pack facilities in Karachi.
The federal minister congratulated both the companies on the successful signing of the MoU and encouraged Chinese companies to invest in Pakistan. He assured the Chinese investors of concerted efforts from BOI’s side to facilitate the potential investors.
