Baladna Food Industries (BFI), which has become the beacon of self-sufficiency drive in Qatar, is expanding its footprint to overseas markets. It is in the final stages to conclude a deal to invest in Malaysia aiming to boost the level of self-sufficiency in terms of dairy products in the Southeast Asian nation, said a top official of the company at an event recently.
Ramiz Al Khayyat, Vice-Chairman of Baladna said the company will conclude the deal formally by signing a contract in the first quarter of 2020 during the proposed visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad to Qatar.
Al Khayyat of Baladna, and Datuk Mohamd Nageeb Abdul Wahab, Chairman, FELCRA Bhd recently signed an MoU in Kuala Lumpur.
Al Khayyat said: “We recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Malaysian partner. Actually the Malaysian government had sent a letter to the Qatari government requesting to conduct a market study aiming to establish joint project in Malaysia, which we have done.”
He added: “Malaysia today has only about 20 percent self-sufficiency in terms of dairy products. So we went there and did the initial study and found the numbers are promising. So we are expected to sign the contracts by the first quarter of next year. The Prime Minister of Malaysia is expected to visit Qatar, who will also visit Baladna facilities, and we will conclude the deal during that time.”
