RIYADH, 1 March 2007 — P.T. Intermarine Co, a subsidiary of Thai food giant Union Frozen Products, has signed a joint investment pact with the Kingdom’s Shami Al-Hassani & Sons Co. to set up joint projects in food sector.
“This business deal, the first of its kind, would see Thai companies making an inroad into the Middle East fishery industry and its growing seafood market,” Suvat Chirapant, charge d’affaires at the Thai embassy, said here yesterday. The business agreement, inked in the Thai capital city recently, calls for setting up “Siam and Shami Red Sea” in Saudi Arabia with both sides holding equal stakes.
The venture will engage in deep-sea fishing, seafood processing, aqua-culture and seafood restaurants. The move to set up this joint project in sea food sector is significant keeping in view the added encouragement provided by the Saudi government to Saudi and foreign companies.
Also, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water has announced new guidelines with more incentives governing fisheries sector, especially in Jizan and Tihama regions.
Chirapant said “the signing of this deal was a major step forward for Thai investment overseas.” It should encourage other companies to invest abroad. According to Srawut Chankao, director of the Thai Trade Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is a potential market for Thai investors, since the markets here have high demand for consumer goods and services.
The two-way trade between the Kingdom and Thailand has been in the region of $3 billion annually. The total Saudi investment in Thailand exceeds $1 billion.