Cambodia-EU trade up 4.6 percent to $4.98 billion last year

Bilateral trade between Cambodia and the European Union (EU) was valued at 4.5 billion euros ($4.98 billion) in 2021, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, said a joint press release on Thursday.

The main products Cambodia exported to the EU are agricultural products, including milled rice, textiles, footwear, travel goods, and bicycles, while key items the kingdom imported from the EU include construction materials, food, beverage, electronics, and pharmaceutical products, among others.

The joint press release was issued at the end of the 11th Cambodia-EU Joint Committee Meeting, which was held here in a hybrid format and co-chaired by the Cambodian foreign ministry’s secretary of state Luy David and Paola Pampaloni, deputy managing director for Asia and Pacific of the European External Action Service.

The meeting discussed economic recovery measures, bilateral trade and investment relations, technical cooperation, market access issues, and the ongoing efforts to further improve the business environment, including the new Law of Investments, and diversify Cambodia’s economy, it said.

“The two sides also committed to further strengthen cooperation to ensure that Cambodia’s investment climate remains open, well facilitated, competitive, and conducive to sustainable socio-economic development,” the release said.

“The meeting also exchanged views on regional and global trade development including updates on economic integration in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and across the wider Asia-Pacific region, EU-ASEAN regional trade relations, and the updates on WTO reforms, among others,” it added.

The next meeting will be held in 2023 in Brussels, the release said.

#Cambodia-EU trade #4.6 percent #$4.98 billion

Meghna Industrial EZ receives $100m in foreign investment – highest in private zones

A total of 12 foreign companies from seven different countries finalized agreements to put their money in the industrial hub near the Dhaka-Chattagram Highway in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon, while four firms – Australian TIC Manufacturing and TIC Industries Pty, Japanese Sakata Inx, and German Siegwerk Limited – have started their factory operations, according to officials of the economic zone.

“Apart from the common facilities of economic zones, our zone has some extra privileges, which is why it became the centre of attraction for foreign investors,” said Suman Bhowmik, senior deputy general manager of Meghna Group of Industries, owner of the economic zone.

As it is situated in a prime location near the capital city, transportation to or from the zone was very easy, he told The Business Standard. The zone has its own power plant to supply electricity to factories, a central effluent treatment plant to process industrial waste, and a fire hydrant system and other amenities.

“Besides, we are now increasing the capacity of solar panels, from which we expect 13-megawatt electricity, and developing a rainwater harvesting system to utilize natural water,” added Suman.

Currently, 14 factories, including 10 local ones, are manufacturing different types of products – from beverage to garment accessories – in the zone, while their investments have amounted to $400 million. Of the amount, local companies, mostly Meghna Group subsidiaries, invested $300 million and the rest came from abroad.

Approved in 2017 by the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), the 90-acre industrial hub saw its first factory establishment by Meghna Beverage in late 2018. In the following year, the two Australian facilities went into operation.

 According to the authorities, all the plots, except a two-acre one, have already been allotted. “Now, we are expanding the area of the zone by 33 more acres to 123 acres of land as many local and foreign firms are still approaching us about setting up their facilities here,” said Suman Bhowmik. He added that there will be 14 more plots.

“We hope the investment in the zone will be increased to $700 million and jobs to 16,000 with the completion of the zone development in the next one and a half years,” he added. Currently, 8,000 people are working in different factories in the zone.

“We saw 9 foreign companies investing in the Meghna Industrial Economic Zone during the pandemic and some starting operations, which proves that the country has a good investment atmosphere,” Shaikh Yusuf Harun, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), told The Business Standard.

He hoped that the foreign investment would inspire other companies to invest in economic zones. China ahead of others, Australia makes debut Of the 12 foreign companies, two Chinese firms invested the highest amount of $23 million in the economic zone, followed by $17.5 million by two Australian companies.

Besides, three German firms invested $15.9 million, an Indian firm $16 million, two Japanese $14 million, a Swiss $6 million, and a Norwegian company made a $5 million investment in the industrial hub. They will produce a range of products, such as garment accessories, inks, paints, chemicals, drugs, and mobile phones.

The Chinese investor Ismatu Technology alone has invested $18.00 million to produce mobile handsets and accessories. It is expected to complete setting up its facility by June this year. Approximately, 3,400 jobs will be generated in the factory. Officials said the two Australian companies – TIC Manufacturing and TIC Industry Pty – produce plastic hangers for garments, with a workforce of 1,000 people.

“The two facilities are producing 2 million hangers every day; they are being exported to Sri Lanka, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, and other countries,” said Rafiquzzaman, director and country manager of TIC Manufacturing (Bangladesh) Pty Limited.

He said Australia has invested in Bangladesh for the first time with the two companies. Indian Sun Pharmaceuticals was making its facility. It said it would be able to go into operation by July this year. The company has invested $16.056 million. Besides, other factories in the zone are expected to start production within this year.

“In the meantime, a Netherland firm expressed its keen interest to have a factory in our economic zone. It wants 4 acres of land,” Suman Bhowmik told TBS. Meghna Group subsidiaries majority in local 10. Out of the local 10 companies in the zone currently in operation, subsidiaries of the local conglomerate Meghna Group are the majority, 7 in number.

The firms are producing beverage items, cement bags, jumbo bags, and different consumer items such as biscuits, noodles, chanachur, and others. The other local companies in the economic zone are Thai Foils and polymer Industries, S2S Chemicals Limited, and Meghna Star Cables and Electrical Appliances Limited (not a concern of Meghna Group).

Meghna Industrial Economic Zone is one of the country’s existing 11 privately run economic zones. The Beza is working toward establishing 100 economic zones across the country by 2030.

 The goal is to create employment for 10 million people. The Beza also expects to produce and export products worth $40 billion annually in and from these economic zones.

Investors can avail of tax holidays, duty-free imports of raw materials and machinery, exemption from dividend tax, VAT-free electricity, gas and water, and other fiscal facilities in the zones. Besides; they enjoy some other non-fiscal advantages, such as bond facility, repatriation of disinvestment, unlimited telephonic transfers, and separate customs procedures.

#$100m in foreign investment #Meghna Industrial  #Investors

Recycling plastic bottles to make garments

Bangladesh is set to become a major source of recycled yarn and fabrics made from plastic bottles as the country looks to capture more market share of global high value-added garment items such as activewear, outerwear, padding, and quilting.

Seven local mills have already set up plants investing Tk 1,670.73 crore collectively in order to make flakes from waste plastic bottles in order to make recycled yarn and fabrics, according to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).

Globally, the recycling of plastic bottles for clothes is a growing trend, as conscious consumers in the western markets are demanding more garment items be made from recycled yarn in order to save the earth from plastic pollution.

As a result, international retailers and brands are increasingly asking suppliers to add 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the raw material to the finished garment items.

Another factor is the cost of production in China, the biggest producer of yarn made from plastic bottles has increased a lot. This has prompted Bangladeshi millers to pump thousands of crores of taka into producing yarn and fabrics from plastic items.

Debonair Group, located in Bhaluka of Mymensingh, collects 30 tonnes to 40 tonnes of plastic bottles daily from vendors to make chips, then fibre, and then yarn before producing garment fabrics.

Ayub Khan, managing director of the group, says he is hopeful that the group can start manufacturing plastic flakes in the new plant by 2022.

The construction of the plant has been delayed for a year because of the fallouts of Covid-19.

Currently, Debonair Group imports $20 million worth of fibre and yarn made from plastic bottles mainly from China to make quilts, jackets, padding, and outerwear for its international buyers in Europe and in the US.

Once the production in the new plant starts, Khan is expecting to collect a significant quantity of plastic bottles from the domestic market.

The initiative of Debonair Group is helping save the environment by reusing plastic bottles, Khan said.

Singair, Manikjganj-based Mumanu Polyester Industries Ltd has a daily production capacity of 120 tonnes of yarn from plastic chips and fibres. But it is running at half of the capacity because of the shortage of raw materials, said Managing Director Abul Kalam Mohammad Musa.

The company collects plastic bottles from the local vendors, who buy them from small traders in villages and urban areas. Musa started his factory in 2017.

Zaber & Zubair Fabrics Ltd also makes yarn and fabrics from the flakes of plastic chips imported from China, said Mokhlesur Rahman, senior executive for product development of the company.

The international buyers of the company select the recycled yarn to be mixed with the woven fabrics before manufacturing apparel items. So, at Zaber & Zubair Fabrics, 25 percent recycled yarn is added with the woven fabrics to get better prices from its global clients.

The company also purchases recycled fibres from Repreve, a global platform for recycling plastic bottles, which are collected from the oceans in order to turn them into fibres.

“We import the fibre as per the requirement of international retailers and brands,” said Rahman, adding that woven, activewear like jerseys, and outerwear are made from recycled plastic yarn.

He says a company can collect plastic bottles from the seabed of the Bay of Bengal to process them into yarn to be used in making garment items.

Monsoor Ahmed, chief executive officer of the BTMA, says local mills collect plastic bottles and turn them into chips and yarn as the demand for plastic yarn is growing worldwide because of the comfort, durability, and longevity of the dresses made from such raw materials.

As a result, international buyers are asking suppliers to add 25 per cent to 30 percent recycled plastic yarn to cotton yarn.

The BTMA urged the National Board of Revenue to waive the duty on the imported recycled plastic fibre and yarn so that local producers can grab more share of the global recycled garment market.

#Recycling plastic bottles  #make garment  # local vendors  # global clients.

Germany’s Framas Group expands local production

Framas Group, the leading injection molding machine manufacturer of Germany, has unveiled its plan aimed at expanding production activities in Nhon Trach 2 Industrial Park in the southern province of Dong Nai.

The move comes following the group leasing a ready-built factory area of 20,000 square metres from KTG Industrial, with the intention of expanding its scale within the Vietnamese market to meet the increasing demands from customers, reported the Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

The 10-year lease contract demonstrates the resilience of the Vietnamese economy and the industrial real estate sector, despite the adverse impacts caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Fabian Urban, head of Footwear Technology at Framas Vietnam, revealed that the establishment of a new factory in Nhon Trach 2 IP is part of the group’s wider strategy to develop the footwear sector in the Vietnamese market.

The new facility is therefore anticipated to meet the growing needs of customers, provide high-quality products, along with taking full advantage of the professional workforce in the nation.

KTG Industrial is a well-known developer of ready-built factories and warehouses which are put up for lease with high-quality facilities up to the international quality and safety standards, according to experts from real estate firm Savills./.

#Framas Group #local production #expand #Germany 

Vietnam attracts nearly 5 billion USD of FDI in two months

Foreign investors have poured nearly 5 billion USD in Vietnam so far this year, equivalent to 91.5 percent of that in the same time last year, reported the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

As of February 20, 183 new projects had been licensed, a rise of 45.2 percent year on year, with their combined capital totaling 631.8 million USD, down 80.9 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, nearly 3.6 billion USD was added into 142 underway projects, over 2.2 times t that in the same period last year. Foreign investors also injected 769.6 million USD into share purchase deals, up 41.7 percent.

At the same time, 2.68 billion USD of foreign investment had been disbursed in the period, a year-on-year rise of 7.2 percent.

FDI was poured in 17 out of the 21 economic sectors, with the highest amount on the processing-manufacturing sector at 3.13 billion USD. It was followed by real estate with nearly 1.52 billion USD, and science-technology and power production and distribution with 109.6 million USD and 60 million USD, respectively.

The agency said that 51 countries and territories have invested in Vietnam, led by Singapore with over 1.7 billion USD, accounting for 34.2 percent of the total FDI that Vietnam attracted in two months, and representing a rise of 59.3 percent year on year. China ranked second with 538 million USD.

Bac Ninh led the 63 localities nationwide in FDI attraction by luring over 1.3 billion USD, accounting for 26.5 percent of the total FDI in Vietnam and rising by nearly 7.6 times over the same period last year. With two large-scale projects, Thai Nguyen came second with nearly 924 million USD.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City attracted the highest number of new FDI projects. The export revenue of the foreign-invested sector rose again in February to more than 41.9 billion USD after a slight drop in January.

Leaders of the agency advised ministries and sectors to strengthen trade promotion and diplomatic activities to make full use of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) that is expected to become effective soon while improving their business and investment environment as well as human resources quality and strengthening the connections between domestic firms and their foreign peers./.

#Vietnam #5 billion USD #agency #Twomonths #FDI