LAHORE – A five member delegation of Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, led by its President Adirek Sripartak, visited office of the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) and held talks with the PBIT management to explore areas of mutual interest and to boost bilateral trade.
PBIT Vice Chairman Rizwan Khan, PBIT Director General Habib Gilani, Sajid Yousafani and other high ranking officers participated in this meeting. PBIT Vice Chairman Rizwan Khan welcomed members of the delegation and gave a detailed briefing about the scope of foreign investment in Punjab’s key sectors. He said that PBIT is matchmaking between the indigenous resources of Punjab and the intending foreign investors, by playing a facilitating role.
He claimed that Punjab possesses the necessary infrastructure to attend needs of foreign investment, adding that the PBIT is providing technical support and assistance to foreign investors for launching new projects in Punjab. During the meeting, PBIT officials and representatives of CP group Thailand, discussed ways to explore untapped investment opportunities in different sectors.
The PBIT facilitated the delegation with knowledge of various investment opportunities in the province. In order to articulate their interest, a number of investment projects were also introduced to the delegation. The CP management expressed desire to revive its proposed investment in Pakistan and showed interest in livestock and dairy development, fisheries and fish processing, poultry and energy.
The PBIT also facilitated meeting of delegates with Livestock and Dairy Development Department, who explained specific details of available investment opportunities. The discussion was followed by a visit to different project sites. Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) is a leading agro-industrial and food conglomerate in Thailand, with an annual turnover of $7.0 billion in the food sector only, while an overall turnover of $17 billion.
The greater part of the company production base is in Thailand, with vast overseas operations. CP Group operates its overseas business through its subsidiaries in Turkey, China, India, Malaysia, England, Russia, Laos and Vietnam.
Visit of this delegation must be looked from a broader perspective, in which CP Group and other business conglomerates of Thailand can help boost trade and investment in Pakistan.
