18/5/06 KARACHI (Asia Pulse) - A Saudi business group, Savola Edible Oils intends to invest US$1 billion in edible oil and sugar sectors in Pakistan and wants local active partners.

"Initially, we have one billion dollars to put into refining and marketing facilities of edible oil and sugar here. Then we will look for other potential areas like conversion of malaises into value-addition," said Abdurrahman Maaraf, Director, Business Development of Savola Edible Oils, during his meeting with FPCCI team here at Federation House on May 16.

He was accompanied by Hasnain Zim Premjee, GM Business Development of the Saudi Group. Abdul Shakoor Khatri, Chairman, Standing Committee on Foreign Investment, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry led team. Maaraf informed the meeting that his group wanted to set up refining and marketing facilities in Pakistan to meet the huge demand for sugar and edible oil here.

He said they were on a fact-finding mission to Pakistan. They wanted to know about the prospects of investment in edible oil and sugar industries and were in search of joint venture partners. He said his group, which has market capitalisation of more than $20 billion, has refining and marketing facilities in the Gulf, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Sudan, Morocco and North Africa.

They were importing edible oil from China, corn oil from Ukraine and palm oil from Malaysia. The Group's facility for refining sugar was located in Egypt. "We would try to establish direct contact with retailers here to ensure quality of products when the people do purchase goods for their brands," Abderrahim Maaraf remarked.

He said they would also look for converting malaises into value-addition i.e. substitute to fuel, raw materials for chemicals.

(PPI)