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Post Info TOPIC: Kuwait firm eyes farmland in Southeast Asia
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Kuwait firm eyes farmland in Southeast Asia
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Kuwait firm eyes farmland in Southeast Asia


DUBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti investment firm, affiliated to the
Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, has approached governments in
Southeast Asian countries to invest in underdeveloped farmland, its
chief financial officer said.

Kuwait China Investment Co's (KCIC), an asset management firm, had a
long-term strategy to invest in the agricultural sector, but no deals
were imminent, Faisal Nawaz told Reuters.

"There is a lot of farmland in Far East Asia that is either
undeveloped or underdeveloped," Nawaz said in an interview late on
Tuesday.

"Our proposition to the governments is that we can help them develop
the infrastructure and develop the farmland and we will then take a
share of the produce."

Kuwait has said it is interested in investing in agriculture and
farmland in both Asia and Africa as it looks to diversify food
sources.

The world's fourth-largest oil exporter has been looking at investing
in the Far East to help diversify its revenue away from heavy reliance
on oil exports.

Nawaz said KCIC saw itself as an "ambassador" for Kuwait to seek out
opportunities in the agricultural sector, although deals could still
take as much as three years to conclude.

KCIC had approached governments in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, Nawaz
said.

"Vietnam will always be there," he said. "They are very open to
suggestions, willing to work with us ... Cambodia, Laos are two other
countries we have approached and we are seeing a good reaction."

The firm's managing director said in July it was looking to invest in
Asian agribusiness and farming projects producing crops such as rice,
wheat and corn for purely commercial reasons.

"It's a model which is difficult to put a timeline on because we are
in discussions with multiple governments and unless we can find the
right proposition ... whether it takes two years or three is difficult
to pin down," Nawaz said.

The desert state, which imports most of its food, sent a delegation
headed by the prime minister and included the head of Kuwait
Investment Authority (KIA), visited eight Asian countries last year to
boost trade ties and discuss food imports.

KCIC, which was established in 2005 with a capital of 80 million
dinars ($278.7 million), is also looking at investments in the energy
sector and equities and wants to buy stakes in firms in the financial
and real estate sectors.

The KIA owns a 15 percent stake in KCIC. Other investors include
Kuwait's family-owned conglomerate Al-Ghanim Industries.

Gulf Arab oil exporters have amassed enormous surpluses from an oil
price rally that started in 2002 and enabled them to snap up foreign
assets to diversify their risk.

In September, Kuwait said it hoped to secure China's approval in the
first quarter of 2010 to build a $9 billion refinery and said in May
it was looking to raise its stake in the Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China (ICBC).

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Anonymous

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I think this story broke of last couple of yers already, but nobody paid attention to it.

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niya


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