Several UAE-based companies expected to scale up investment in Punjab

Several UAE-based leading business houses are expected to sign agreements with Indian companies in food and logistics sectors at the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit (PPIS) 2019.

The investors' summit will be organised in Mohali and will run through Thursday and Friday.

As one of the partner countries for the summit, UAE is looking at increasing its stake in the state's development and growth by strengthening its existing strategic ties, an official release said.

While LuLu Group is in talks to finalise agreements to support long-term procurement of fresh fruits and vegetables from the state, DP World is exploring entry into the logistics sector in Pathankot.

Another of UAE's industry leaders, Emaar Group, is looking to enter the food sector - sourcing fresh fruits and vegetables from Punjab, besides looking at setting up a poultry unit in the state, disclosed Vini Mahajan, Additional Chief Secretary, Investment Promotion and Additional Chief Secretary, Industries and Commerce of Punjab.

Emaar Group, a Dubai-based real estate company, has already come up with their 1st Integrated Township in Punjab, and have property spread across 630 acres in Mohali.

A UAE government delegation led by the UAE Ambassador to India will be taking part in the keynote and panel discussions at the summit. They will be accompanied by industry delegation from UAE to explore areas for collaboration and will include CXO level executives from Sharaf Group and Lulu Group.

Lulu Group already has a strong presence in Punjab. They have recently acquired a unit in Derabassi in Mohali district of Punjab for starting a meat processing plant outside of UAE. They have also entered into contract for manufacturing of biscuits with Ludhiana based Mrs Bectors through their brand Cremica. Lulu is selling these biscuits through their retail chains in UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The partnership has resulted in the trade of Rs 8.9 million in the last six months.

Ludhiana-based Trident Group is also in advanced talks with Lulu Group to sell products (home textiles and towels) through their retail chains across the Middle East, said Vini.

Trident Group CEO Saifee Rupawala had visited Punjab in December 2018 to discuss the viable collaborations between Lulu and Punjab based enterprises. The team explored the investment climate in the State and evaluated the industrial ecosystem, post which they expressed interest in B2B engagements, under which they decided to export agri-commodities, food products and packaged goods from Punjab to UAE. In their first consignment, Lulu Group sourced over 200 tonnes of Kinnow from the State.

Invest Punjab offered complete B2B facilitation to Lulu Group, which instilled their confidence in the Punjab based enterprises and ensured smooth execution of partnerships, the release said.

Hind Terminals, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Dubai-based Shipping giant Sharaf Group, is establishing a state-of-the-art multimodal logistics hub in the Ludhiana District. The project is estimated to be worth over Rs 200 crore with the multimodal logistics park spread over 55 acres.

Business ties between Punjab and UAE got a major boost when a senior delegation from the Government of Punjab participated in the 2nd edition of India-UAE Partnership Summit in October 2018 at Dubai, where they interacted with investors in retail, real estate, healthcare, logistics & warehousing, agro and food processing sectors.

Building on this exchange of dialogue, many leading business groups from UAE including Lulu Group, DP World, Sharaf Group and BRS visited Punjab and identified business and trade opportunities that exist between the complementary sectors of Punjab and UAE.