“We are looking at the food sector, financial services, telecommunications, hospitality and transport,” Zain said, adding the firm was aiming to buy minority stakes that would give it “some extent of control”.

Bahrain and the Philippines have signed an agreement to set up a $500 million joint agricultural company to help achieve food sufficiency in the kingdom and the GCC states.

“[Middle East investors] wanted to go on a long-term lease of huge tracts of land and they will plant various crops and then enter into a contract to buy the produce because they need food to feed their people,” Trade Secretary Peter Favila told reporters.

An estimated $238.6 million will be alloted by the Saudis to set up cash crop fruit plantations consisting of bananas, mangoes, and pineapples, an agriculture official said.

The worldwide financial crisis has reportedly stalled several agricultural deals between Gulf countries and overseas partners, including two between Bahrain and Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are worldwide leaders in buying farmland in third-party countries, followed by China and Japan, says the World Bank.

Stephen Marks looks at the latest rush by China and countries in the middle east to sign lease agreements in poor countries for agricultural production, and what this trend means in terms of food security and access to arable land for local populations.

Vision3, an alliance of three major Gulf financial institutions, has signed a landmark deal with Turkey paving the way for nearly $9 billion investment in Turkey’s agricultural sector.

As the increase in oil prices continue to help boost the income of Persian Gulf nations, Turkey is becoming a magnet for Gulf-based investors aiming to establish strategic food reserves

8In a bid to ensure its long-term food security, Bahrain is negotiating a series of import agreements and investing in farmland in South East Asia.

Gulf banks and businessmen were yesterday urged to invest less money in the real estate sector and turn to food industries.

What’s with farming these days? The humble, even if slightly romantic vocation, is attracting a new breed of participants as investing in farmland and agriculture becomes the latest fad in the world of investments.