Dubai's Abraaj interested in Pakistan agriculture

DUBAI, May 12 (Reuters) - Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Capital said it is looking at investing in agriculture in Pakistan, but declined to comment on a London Financial Times report that it had bought farmland for the United Arab Emirates.

The FT reported on Monday that Abraaj, whose Chief Executive Officer Arif Naqvi is a Pakistani national, is working with the UAE government on agribusiness investments in Pakistan to increase food security and damp domestic inflation.. The UAE government in Abu Dhabi has been holding talks with Islamabad about a framework for investment in its agricultural sector as it seeks to secure cheaper, long-term supplies of staples such as wheat and rice, the FT reported.

"No comment on that article, but it is a sector we are looking at," Abraaj Managing Director Mustafa Abdelwadood told Reuters on Monday.

In March, Abraaj said it bought into Pakistani energy firm Bosicor to tap growing demand for petroleum products in the world's sixth most-populous nation. [ID:nL03388522] (Reporting by John Irish, Editing by Peter Blackburn)