Bangladesh Economy: News & Updates

[Arthur]

Home Business
12:00 AM, November 16, 2016 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:00 AM, November 16, 2016
Steel production to jump on big infrastructure projects

Industry leaders say at a conference in Dhaka

Star Business Report

Bangladesh will witness a dramatic increase in steel manufacturing in the coming years as consumption is expected to rise rapidly to cater to large infrastructure projects and higher demand across the country, industry leaders said yesterday.

Production will rise to more than six million tonnes a year in a couple of years from four million tonnes now, said Manwar Hossain, managing director of Anwar Group.

“The industry is booming,” he told The Daily Star on the sidelines of the second and last day of the Coal, Steel and Raw Material Conference at Radisson Hotel in Dhaka.

Some 270 people from 12 countries including India, Singapore, the US, Japan, Korea and some European countries took part in the conference organised by SteelMint Events, an event management company based in India.

The event enabled major suppliers of raw materials and technology from all over the world to network with steel, cement and power producers and traders in Bangladesh, said Dhruv Goel, managing director of SteelMint.

More than two dozen companies set up stalls at the conference venue to show their products.

The global steel industry is going through a slowdown; however, there are a few countries that have performed extremely well and Bangladesh is one of them, he added.

The steel sector in Bangladesh has recorded 15 percent growth in 2015, riding on infrastructure, both in housing and public utilities, he said.

Bangladesh is one of Asia's most emerging steel markets and has a growing need for raw materials and steelmaking technologies, he added.

Scrap, sponge and pig iron will be major raw materials for steel smelting units based in Bangladesh, with imports expected to clock 2.5 million tonnes in 2016 and 4.5 million tonnes in 2018, which will make Bangladesh the second largest scrap importer in the region, after India, and the fourth largest importer in Asia, according to the event organisers.

Hossain of Anwar Group said the whole industry is undergoing a huge change as local manufacturers are replacing old technologies with new ones to ratchet up production.

“Some companies have doubled or trebled their production capacity to cater to the rising local demand.”

Steelmakers will invest about Tk 5,000 crore in the next two years, he said.

Bangladesh relies on local manufacturing to meet the demand for steel, as local producers have developed the capacity to produce high-quality steel products. However, the country has to import raw materials, said SK Masadul Alam Masud, chairman of Bangladesh Auto Re-rolling and Steel Mills Association.

Steel consumption will obviously go up when Bangladesh will carry out unfinished development works, he added.

“Steel consumption is on the rise. So, foreign raw materials and technology suppliers are coming to Bangladesh in large numbers.”

Raghavan Somnath, chief of strategy and business excellence at India's Tata Sponge Iron Ltd, said infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, ports and river tunnels worth at least $20 billion are going on in Bangladesh. If steel constitutes 15 percent of those projects, an additional four million tonnes of steel will be required, he added.

India and Bangladesh can work together to compete against global players, he said.

Bangladesh imports raw materials from South Africa, Australia, India, the US and the EU, said Mofizul Islam Azad, head of sales and marketing of Macro Shipping Company. Imports will go up 25 percent this year from last year, he added.

Hossain of Anwar Group called upon the government to reduce import duty as the tariff hike from Tk 3,500 a tonne to Tk 13,000 in the current budget prompted small producers to import ingot duty-free and produce low-quality steel products.

“We, the major producers, are self-sufficient in billets. But with higher import duties, small producers cannot afford producing billets from scraps.”

Aameir Alihussain, managing director of BSRM, Sumon Chowdhury, chairman of RRM Group (Bangladesh), and VR Sharma, group chief executive of Abul Khair Group, also spoke.



http://www.thedailystar.net/business/steel-production-jump-big-infrastructure-projects-1315243

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[Arthur]

Home Front Page
12:00 AM, November 20, 2016 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:26 AM, November 20, 2016
Time for jute stick too to earn forex

Exporters see golden prospect as demand for its charcoal powder rises globally

Two workers burning jute sticks in a furnace for producing ash at a factory in Pabna recently. The factory sends the ash, which has a huge export potential, to China. Photo: Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu

Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu

You may well have seen this many times before: long, thin jute sticks being dried under the open by the roadside or at a village yard. Usually, they end up as fuel for earthen stoves or as fences for betel leaf plantations.

You may not know that ashes of jute sticks could have any other use apart from cleaning kitchen utensils. The ashes can fetch a fortune.

Two Pabna jute stick processing factories have in recent times earned a good amount of foreign currency by exporting ashes of jute sticks, known as patkhari.

This particular type of ashes is produced from burning dried jute sticks at a certain temperature in special furnaces. Later, they are crushed to powder. The powder is called “jute stick carbon”, as it contains carbon.


“China is a big market for our jute stick charcoal dust powder,” said Waheduzzaman, manager of SJJ Company Ltd in Pabna. “Korea, Japan, Taiwan and other countries also have demand for the ashes, as those are used for making dry cell batteries, cosmetics, carbon paper, computer ink and various chemical products.”

The China-Bangladesh joint venture company started exporting the charcoal powder to China this year. The other company in the district is in Bera upazila.

There are 25 such factories, including the two in Pabna, in the country, according to officials of SJJ Company.

The country exported jute stick carbon to China and earned Tk 140 million during the fiscal year 2015-16, according to industry insiders.

Countries like Japan, Turkey, the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Canada and Mexico have demand for charcoal powder.

The powder is used for making various products like cosmetics, dried ink of photocopier machine, dry cell batteries, water filtering and other chemical products.

Raw jute -- touted as the golden fibre -- and jute products are well-known foreign currency-earning items of the country. The charcoal powder from jute sticks are a new addition.

Established in 2014 at Norjan village in Pabna's Atghoria upazila, SJJ Company Ltd went into production in May this year, said Wahed.

“We are producing three to four tonnes of carbon from burning 20 tonnes of jute sticks twice a week,” he said.

Wahed said the company exported 110 tonnes of powder to China in the last four months and earned $1,00,000. Each tonne was exported for $800 to $1,000.

The production of charcoal powder increased due to the rising demand for the item in the international market, he added.

There are 14 specially-made furnaces in the factory.

“The sticks are burnt for 10 to 12 hours in the furnaces,” said Joynal Abedin, supervisor of the factory. “The lids of the furnaces are then closed so that no oxygen can enter there. The ashes are kept there like that for four days. Then we collect those, crush them and sent for packaging.”

Workers packaging jute stick charcoal dust powder at a factory in Pabna. Photo: Star
“The packages are sent to Chittagong Port from where those are shipped to China,” he said, adding that the company was trying to export ashes to other countries as well.

He said they collect jute sticks from farmers in Pabna and adjoining areas. Each tonne of sticks cost them Tk 4,000 to 5,000.

“But we don't get sufficient materials from local areas. At least 1,800 to 2,000 tonnes are needed to run the factory round the year. We have collected only half the amount so far,” he claimed.

The new concept was gaining popularity among the farmers and entrepreneurs in the district. Farmers are now interested in growing jute more, as they eye for more benefits from jute.

“We suffered losses from jute cultivation in the last few years as the prices were not good. This year, we are getting a good price for the fibre. Moreover, we can earn Tk 10,000 to 15,000 extra from the jute sticks,” said a farmer.

“Just a year ago, we used jute sticks for cooking or for making fences. But now we can sell them and earn some extra money,” said Ukiluddin, a local of Norjan village.

Considering the huge export opportunity, many entrepreneurs in the district expressed their interest in starting this business, Mahabubul Alam Mukul, senior vice-president of Pabna Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told The Daily Star.

The two jute stick processing factories in the district exported 50 to 60 tonnes of ashes and earned around $50,000 in the last four months, he said.

Another factory was being built in the district and it would probably start production next year, Mukul said.

He, however, said the government should provide financial support, like extending loans and giving incentives, to entrepreneurs to help expand the sector.

According to the Department of Jute, nearly 30 lakh tonnes of jute sticks are produced in the country every year and a large portion of them are used as firewood and for making fences in rural areas.

If half of the total produce could be used for making ashes, it is possible to earn $30,00,000 to $35,00,000 annually from their export, officials said.

 

[Bilal9]

https://defence.pk/threads/made-in-bangladesh.371875/page-23#post-8930927

 

[Bilal9]

Uber taxis hit Dhaka streets

Mobile app-based worldwide service expected to improve city's transport system

M Abul Kalam Azad and Pankag Karmakar

“Boss, my name is Arman. I am at Panthapath. Where should I come to pick you up?” a driver of Uber transport service said, seconds after Shafiul Islam sought the newly introduced taxi service in Dhaka.

When called using the mobile app, the phone screen shows the name of the driver, his photograph and approximate time of his arrival.

The driver was supposed to come in five minutes, as the screen showed. But he came after 20 minutes, thanks to bad traffic, with his Toyota Corolla. Shafiul, a private service holder, got on the car and started for Uttara.

“Amid the evening rush, I reached Uttar Sector-5 in one hour and 15 minutes. The fare was Tk 600,” he told The Daily Star by phone. “I am happy with the service.”

His experience is starkly different from that of thousands of Dhaka commuters, who face severe transport crisis every day. Capital cities across the world have smooth taxi services but in Bangladesh all attempts in this regard went in vain for a lack of proper planning.

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan with his first Uber ride in the city. Uber, a taxi-hailing mobile application, launched its service in Bangladesh yesterday. Photo: UBER

Taxi service has brought revolutionary changes in Kolkata, once a city crowded and chaotic like Dhaka, following the introduction of Uber and Ola. The services are already very popular there as they resolved years of transport problem.

A US multinational online transport network company headquartered in San Francisco, California, Uber offers app-based taxi service allowing customers with smartphones to place a trip request in about 450 cities in 74 countries.


The taxi service, which has been available in Dhaka for the past several weeks, was formally launched yesterday in partnership with the country's largest telecom company, Grameenphone.

Once a person signs up for Uber's free app, he or she can call a car by opening the app and giving information about their location and pay the fare in cash or credit card.

Uber does not own any cars. It acts like a middleman between customers and cab drivers. It has made the task of booking a cab easier. Any car owner can become drivers after getting registered with valid documents, national identity card and a photograph.

Like Shafiul, an increasing number of city dwellers have started using the world's largest on-demand taxi service.

One of the first users yesterday was Hasan. He took an Uber taxi to come to Karwan Bazar from Apollo Hospitals in Bashundhara.

“The fare was only Tk 300,” he said, adding that the amount is much lower than that charged by other taxis operating in the city. “Earlier I counted Tk 500 to Tk 550 for the same ride in other taxis.”

Sources in the Uber claimed they were charging about 40 percent less than the existing market price.

The service offers safe, reliable and affordable rides at the push of a button while opening up flexible economic opportunities for driver-partners, according to a press release by Uber.

 

[Bilal9]

Dhaka Metrorail update: Depot construction has begun

 

[Bilal9]

“China is a big market for our jute stick charcoal dust powder,” said Waheduzzaman, manager of SJJ Company Ltd in Pabna. “Korea, Japan, Taiwan and other countries also have demand for the ashes, as those are used for making dry cell batteries, cosmetics, carbon paper, computer ink and various chemical products.”

This is wonderful, but we could get ahead of the value addition process and make the dry cell carbon elements, mascara powder and laser printer toner and carbon pigment ink locally as well. But all in good time hopefully.

 

[Arthur]

This is wonderful, but we could get ahead of the value addition process and make the dry cell carbon elements, mascara powder and laser printer toner and carbon pigment ink locally as well. But all in good time hopefully.

Well said. Agreed on all points.
We have the raw material of this sector in plenty. If good business plan & management is maintained & with enough investment this sector has the potential to grow into a contributor to our national growth.

 

[Arthur]

Govt creating ‘land bank’ of 100,000 acres

November 3, 2016 | Filed under: Economy | Posted by: bdchronicle



The government is creating a ‘land bank’ of 100,000 acres to help domestic and foreign investors set up their factories without any hassle in Bangladesh, said Abul Kalam Azad, principal secretary to the prime minister, yesterday.


The 100,000 acres would include the special economic zones that the government plans to set up.

The land application law will be amended in two to three months to give land owners more compensation than they currently get, he said at a programme organised by the Public Private Partnership Authority at the capital’s Sonargaon Hotel.

The PPP Authority signed preliminary agreements with 14 lenders on PPP financing partnership.

As per the agreements, the PPP Authority will send tender documents to the 14 banks and non-bank financial institutions before awarding the contracts so that lenders can analyse whether the projects will be financially viable for them.

Land is a big problem in Bangladesh, so the government has decided to amend the land application law, Azad said. The proposal is likely to be placed before the cabinet next week.

“The amended law will ensure higher compensation and less hassle and complexities,” said Azad, who is also the chairman of PPP Authority.


Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority is working to build 77 zones over the next 10 to 15 years.

Initial estimates suggest 50,000-70,000 acres will be required for the economic zones, of which, 20,000-25,000 acres have already come under the government’s control, he said.

“Nearly one lakh acres of land will be brought under this land bank to reduce the hassles and complexities of investors.”

Investors will get all services, be it electricity, gas, tax issues, at the zones, he said.


China has been granted 700 acres of land and the allocation of this land has already been completed, he said.

Special economic zones are being developed on a fast-track basis, Azad said, adding that the government also plans to form a separate authority to handle the skills issue of manpower.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, who spoke on the occasion as chief guest, said the government is now getting lots of investment proposals from foreign investors and some of the proposals are big ones.

“One such big foreign investment proposal is the construction of Dhaka-Payra rail line,” he said. Anis A Khan, chairman of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh and managing director of Mutual Trust Bank, said the programme will create awareness about PPP among the lenders.

He, however, said lots of development projects are being implemented, so there must be discipline in the works as well.

Khan also requested the government to give incentives to investors of PPP projects so that they are encouraged to come up with their investments. Earlier, Afsor H Uddin, chief executive officer of the PPP Authority, presented an overview of the PPP programmes in Bangladesh.

He said the authority has principally given approval to 44 PPP projects worth $14 billion. Contracts have been signed for eight projects worth $1.5 billion.

Eunusur Rahman, secretary of the banking and financial institutions division, also spoke.



http://bangladeshchronicle.net/2016/11/govt-creating-land-bank-of-100000-acres/

 

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh’s 2nd submarine cable “SEA-ME-WE-5” to start operation soon

Bangladesh is going to launch its second submarine cable landing station soon in Matibhanga coastal area of Kuakata. The construction work of the project is underway in full-swing. The new connection with the 20,000 km-long SEA-ME-WE-5 submarine cable, which stretches from Singapore to the Middle East to Western Europe and connects 17 countries, will provide high speed uninterrupted internet services at a cheaper cost than the first cable.

Once the country gets its second connection, it will obtain bandwidth of more than 1,300 gigabits per second (Gbps) in addition to 200 Gbps bandwidth from the existing SEA-ME-WE-4 connection. The country got its first submarine cable connection — SEA-ME-WE-4 — in 2006.

Project director Parvej Monon Ashraf of Submarine cable communication division said that currently about five crore people are using internet in the country. The authority is providing internet through the only cable station in Cox`s Bazaar. There is no alternative way to restore internet communication if the only station faces any trouble. As a result, Bangladesh telecommunication Company Limited BTCL is going to set up its second landing station in Patuakhali.

 

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh government approves Tk 1.13 trillion nuclear power plant

The most expensive project in Bangladesh’s history - a Tk. 1.13 trillion nuclear power plant, has been approved by the government.

The first-ever N-power plant is to be built at Rooppur in the northern district of Pabna.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the approval came on Tuesday at the Executive Council of the National Economic Committee (ECNEC) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“Initial steps had been taken for a similar project during Bangabandhu’s time in power,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.

“The plan was then for a 200MW plant. Nuclear scientist Dr Wajed Miah was appointed the director of the project.

"It stalled after Bangabandhu’s death and was revived in 1996, when the Awami League took office. It was not financially feasible at that time. But now, with the support from Russia, it will go ahead.”

“The project is the most expensive in Bangladesh’s history,” said the minister.

The two units of the project are estimated to generate 2400MW of electricity.

Russia will provide loans of approximately Tk 910 billion ($11.38 billion) for the project. The remaining Tk 220 billion will be funded by the Bangladesh government.

The Russian loan will have to be repaid in 20 years with a grace period of 10 years.

The project, initiated by the science and technology ministry, will be implemented by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) and is scheduled to be completed by 2025.

More than 2,500 jobs will be created for commissioning, maintenance and operation of the project at different stages, the minister added.

Another 369 people will be employed by the project’s management unit.
In 2013, the government approved Tk 50.87 billion for the preliminary phase for the Rooppur nuclear power plant. Russia had provided Tk 40 billion in loans for that project.

The BAEC and Russia's Atomstroy Export (ASE) had signed four deals for implementing the preliminary phase of the project.

 

[Bilal9]

Fireworks and laser shows light up the night sky during a festival of lights at Hatirjheel in Dhaka as the country achieves power generation capacity amounting to 15,000 megawatts ...

 

[Bilal9]

BD Leather sector aims for $5b in exports



Bangladesh will be able to churn $5 billion from exporting leather, leather goods and footwear in four years, riding on the back of product diversification and value addition, a leading exporter said yesterday.

The sector will create 200,000 jobs in the period, said Md Saiful Islam, managing director of Picard Bangladesh.

“Everyone is talking about export diversification. The leather sector will help Bangladesh diversify its exports,” said Islam, also the vice president of Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh.

He spoke at the third global social responsibility conference, organised by Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI) and GIZ, the German agency for international cooperation, at Radisson Hotel in Dhaka.

The sector recorded $1.3 billion of exports in fiscal 2013-14 and set a target of $1.5 billion for this fiscal year. Leather exports accounted for 4.29 percent of the country’s total exports worth $30.17 billion last fiscal year.

The high cost of doing business in China has created a business opportunity for Bangladesh due to its competitive workforce, he said. “Bangladesh saw political unrest last year, but not labour unrest. It is a positive sign for Bangladesh.”

It will be easier for exporters to add more value to the local products as the sector has some advantages in its value chain, Islam added. “We are addressing the environmental issues with the government and I am confident that those will be overcome by mid-next year.”

Salehuddin Ahmed, managing editor of The Daily Star, moderated the session.

The leather sector is the next promising sector after garments, Ahmed said. “If we put our minds together, we will succeed in the sector, like in RMG.”

The leather sector has the potential to deliver rapid growth as it has a huge supply of hide, competitive cost base, huge workforce, tariff-free access, business shifting to Bangladesh from China, and a growing middle class, said Adnan Nafis, head of trade promotion at BGCCI.

Vietnam has set its goal of $12 billion in leather-product exports in 2014. In the first nine months of the year, Vietnam received around $7.4 billion from shipping footwear abroad, up nearly 24 percent year-on-year and $1.9 billion from exporting handbags, up 37 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Southeast Asian nation’s government.

“So our target of $5 billion in exports is achievable,” Nafis said.

Bangladesh exports leather products mainly to Italy, New Zealand, Poland, the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, the US, Canada and Spain.

In addition, Japan, India, Nepal, Australia and some other countries are emerging as potential importers of Bangladeshi leather goods.

Bangladesh’s leather exports account for a mere 0.005 percent of the global leather and leather goods market worth around $230 billion, according to industry insiders.

The sector has immense potential to tap more export orders, said Nabhash Chandra Mandal, executive member of Board of Investment. The sector registered 28 percent growth last year, he added.

The duty free import of raw materials and tax rebate facility for the sector will encourage foreign companies to form joint ventures with local companies, he said.

“The tannery relocation process is slow. We should complete it soon.”

About 80 tanneries have started relocating from the toxic tannery hub of Hazaribagh to Savar, according to the tanners’ association.

The industries ministry has already allocated plots on the 200-acre leather estate in Savar to 155 tannery owners through Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation, a wing of the industries ministry that is implementing the project.

The central bank also declared an incentive package for tanners to help them move the hazardous factories to a designated industrial park.

Bata Shoes is facing some problems, such as high value-added taxes and counterfeit shoes from Myanmar and Thailand, said Iftekhar Haider Chowdhury, industrial relations manager at the company.

“We have 300 outlets across the country but counterfeit shoes are sold on the roads or others showrooms, which affect our business.”

“The company pays VAT twice on its finished products. It pays VAT when the product comes out of the factory and again when it is sold.”

“The problem should be addressed,” Chowdhury added.

The company has the highest market share of 22 percent in Bangladesh, playing an important role in transforming the economy as it paid $ 22.5 million in tax and VAT to the government last year, he said. Bata sold 30 million pairs of shoes last year.

The collection and preservation process of rawhide should be developed to produce quality finished products, said Sabur Ahmed, chairman of the leather engineering department at Dhaka University.

“We should add value to our finished products to get more export orders.”

An abridged overview of Bangladesh Leather Sector

• Leather sector in Bangladesh has, by and large, made progressive growth in terms of the output of producing finished leather, leather footwear production etc. Technical improvements integrated in the process of producing finished leather have widened and enriched the product lines in various sub-sectors of the industry. Presently, there are about 207 small, medium and large tanneries in Bangladesh.
• Leather from Bangladesh enriched with natural texture and grain patterns, is in great demand and benefits from high reputation in international market.
• Bangladesh has about 59.81 million heads of livestock population consisting of 23.25 million cow heads, 0.85 million buffalo heads, 34.59 million goat heads and 1.12 million sheep heads.
• The annual supply of hides and skins is about 300 million square feet out of which 64% are cow hides, 31.82% goat skins, 2.25% buffalo hides and 1.10% sheep skins.
• The tanning sub sector has capacity to produce more than 400 million square feet of wet-blue hides, about 300 million square feet crust leather and 130 million square feet of finished leather per year. Export of finished leather including consumption in export-oriented footwear and leathergoods is about 50.14 million square feet; while small tanners and traders produce about 42.86 square feet low grade finished leather for local consumption.
• The present employment in tannery of Bangladesh is about 15,000 (including managerial and production staff), 51,400 in footwear sub-sector (15,000 in mechanized sub-sector and 36,400 in small and cottage level non-mechanized sub-sector) and 10,200 in leathergoods sub-sector (1200 in mechanized units and 9,000 in non-mechanized units).
• There are now about 25 large mechanized footwear industries in the country. These were mostly established in recent years. There are also about 4,500 small and cottage (Artisan) units producing various types of leather footwear. The annual production capacity of the footwear sub-sector is estimated to be 178.74 million pairs being 32.17 million pairs by mechanized sub-sector and 146.57 million pairs by small and cottage sub-sector. The annual actual production is estimated to be about 132.40 million pairs.
• Leather-goods manufacturing in Bangladesh is still in its infant stage, operating mainly at cottage micro industry level. There are five large and about 15 medium and small mechanized units and more than 1500 cottage level leather-goods manufacturing units in the country. Annual production of this sub-sector is about 7.50 million pieces, being 1.37 million pieces by mechanized/ semi-mechanized units and 6.13 million pieces in small and cottage (Artisan) level units.
• Easy import regulations for tannery chemicals and other items are permissible (Bonded Ware house facilities are also available).
• Low level labor cost.
• Relatively short lead-time (because finished leather output is locally available).
• Export customers can avail GSP facilities for export to EU.
• Price structure is quite competitive.
• Shipment facilities (both by Air & by Sea) are adequate.
• Supply of fairly large quality of soling materials NR (Natural Rubber based), EVA, TPR and PVC are locally available.
• New Leather Processing Zone under construction will permit accelerated industrial performance in terms of further improved quality merchandise and higher productivity in an "Environmentally-Friendly" working area.
• Leather and leather products are exported to different countries of the world. The major importing countries are Italy, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Germany, UK and USA and partly Middle-East countries.

 

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh Emerges in Drug Exportation Industry
Contributor: Vishnu Priya Wahal, Senior Market Access Analyst
Published on: 22 February, 2016

Bangladesh is taking on increased prominence in the pharma industry with ambitious plans to export Made-in-Bangladesh medicines all over the world. The country, located east of India on the Bay of Bengal, has undergone a dramatic rise in export earnings over the past half-decade. Five years ago, Bangladesh’s annual earnings from exporting medicines BDT 3 billion. In just the first half of the 2015-16 fiscal year, Bangladesh had already reached that level (around US$38 million) from euxporting medicines, according to media reports.

The phenomenal growth of the sector stands in sharp contrast to just 20 years ago when the country imported 75% of its pharmaceutical products. Today, that ratio is reversed with 97% of Bangladesh's drug needs being filled locally, leaving only 3% of drugs being imported. Moreover, Bangladesh has leveraged that industry ramp-up to the point that it now exports medicines to 90 countries in Europe and the Middle East. More growth is projected with the opening of the U.S. market to Bangladesh-made drugs, likely driving a several-fold increase in export income. The former Bangladesh Bank governor, Mohammed Farashuddin, said export medicines to the U.S. alone could potentially reach US $10 billion if the government offers improved policy support and incentives.

Some experts attribute the spectacular growth to favorable government policy and a special focus on producing quality products. In particular, two issues have been a driving force for pharmaceutical export market in Bangladesh. They include:

• a relaxation on intellectual property rights granted by the WTO for the least developed countries until 2033
• 2 Bangladeshi companies – Square Pharmaceuticals and Beximco Pharma – obtaining FDA accreditation in June 2015. Other companies are expected to follow suit.

The first driver is particularly key going forward. Because Bangladesh can manufacture and sell medicines for another 17 years without spending on intellectual property rights, the country may reap the maximum benefits from the relaxation granted by WTO. With Incepta Pharmaceuticals, for example, touting that it can profitably produce a generic version of a hepatitis C drug Sovaldi at 1% of the actual price of the patent drug (which is US $1,000 per pill), medical tourism is likely to rise too. Industry growth is expected to create employment opportunities for pharmacists, chemists, microbiologists and physicians. What this means for industry, however, will largely be dependent on whether medical tourism actually materializes in Bangladesh and whether patients from other parts of the world flock there for cheaper alternatives.

At the same time, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Sanofi have established plants in Bangladesh that will produce vaccines, oncology therapies and other high-cost therapies in Bangladesh. With these pharmaceutical plants, an industrial park could be up and running in a couple of years as well. In addition to direct export operations, there is a massive opportunity for the Bangladeshi companies to opt for contract manufacturing and compulsory licensing opportunities.

Bangladesh has moved to transform its position in the pharmaceutical industry over the past two decades. As these trends continue, Bangladesh’s role in the global pharmaceutical market will evolve and grow.

 

[bluesky]

29 Dec 2016, 19:45:44
Petrobangla signs deal with India co to set up LNG project


Petrobangla signed a deal with an Indian company set up a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Infrastructure Development Project at an estimated cost of $ 950 million.

The project includes setting up a LNG re-gasification terminal at Kutubdia Island along with gas pipeline to carry the re-gasified LNG, sources said Thursday.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian company- Petronet LNG Limited- and Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) in this regard at Petrobangla Bhaban in the city Thursday.

Prabhat Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Petronet LNG and Syed Ashfaquzzaman, Secretary, Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

The High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Energy Secretary Nazimuddin Chowdhury, among others, were present on the occasion.

The capacity of the terminal is expected to be 7.5 MMTPA (1000 MMSCFD).

It will be completed in four years with provision for future expansion and can also be used to supply LNG through small barges and LNG trucks to users which are not connected by gas grid.

The project will bring both direct and indirect employment and will further enhance the economic development of Bangladesh.

The implementation of the project will be the starting of new era and will bring long lasting benefit for the people of Bangladesh, the sources added.-Asfar

 

[bluesky]

29 Dec 2016, 19:45:44
Petrobangla signs deal with India co to set up LNG project

I am surprised at this news. A similar news a few weeks ago said of a contract with an US company. Seems, that one did not materialize. Now, it is an Indian company. Hmm------. I do not think BD people will like an Indian company to build this LNG plant. Such a company, without its own specialized technology for a project like that, cannot possibly do a project like this. The only hope is, it is only a Memorandum of Understanding, and not a Project Contract.