$200 Million Fund Set Up for Distressed Pakistan Projects: Khaleej Times

Muzaffar Rizvi

28 March 2009

DUBAI - NBD Sana Capital, a private equity firm, is setting up a $200 million fund to invest in troubled industrial units and farming projects in Pakistan, a senior Pak government official said. The fund would takeover the distressed projects mainly in textile industry, agriculture and dairy farming sectors and put them back on track by injecting ‘sufficient capital’, Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, chairman of the Pak-UAE Business Council, said after concluding the meetings with major UAE business groups and the government officials. “We have identified some model projects under this head and a technical team from the UAE will be visiting Pakistan to set the modalities,” Dr Baig told Khaleej Times on Friday. Elaborating, Dr Baig said some textile units in Pakistan need cash injection and running finance for value addition and capacity boost and this fund will also invest in such projects. “Initially, we have short-listed Pak Denim, Siddique Sons and some other firms from renewable energy sector,” Baig, who was heading a 35-member Pak business delegation, said. NBD Sana Capital is a private equity firm that invests in some of the world’s fastest growth markets of the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and South Asia. Dr Baig, who is also an advisor to President of Pakistan, further said Dubai Export Development Corporation, or EDC, would offer export credit insurance guarantee to Pakistani exporters. “The EDC initiative offering up to 90 per cent of credit insurance, will help Pak exporters to cover the risk and strike more business deals in coming days,” he said. Dr Baig, who is also a Chairman of Baig Group, said talks on free trade agreement between Pakistan and Gulf Cooperation Council states are at ‘advance stage’ and the process will be accelerated to conclude the deal in near future. He said the UAE government has shown its interests to invest in Pakistan’s agriculture and water sector to ensure food security.

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