Bangladesh Economy: News & Updates

[Raquib]

Hua Du sees economy recover

Sun, Mar 2nd, 2008 5:20 pm BdST
Dhaka, March 02 (bdnews24.com) — The Asian Development Bank's Dhaka mission chief said Sunday the economy had recovered from the losses left by twin floods and a devastating cyclone.

Hua Du, the country director of the Manila-based agency, also forecast bright economic performance in the days to come.

"(About) 50 percent of Bangladesh economy has recovered. I think the economy will go up further," Hua Du said in a meeting with the members of the Overseas Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (OCAB) at the National Press Club.

She appreciated the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts after the Nov15 cyclone.

The ADB chief said Bangladesh had a capability to become a middle-income country with per capita income of $1,000 in 2015-20 if stable investment policies were adopted.

Currently, the country's per capita income is $470.

"If Bangladesh remains stable, ensures availability of energy and electricity, develops infrastructure and sets up connectivity, the economy has a very good future," she said.

On poor implementation of the annual development programme, Hua Du said there was a sluggish trend in the implementation of the ADP over the years.

"We have the second half in hand. I hope it will increase in the second half (January to June)," she said.

Hua Du said instability did not necessarily mean that a "civil war" was going on here but it meant inconsistency of policies too.

Policies should not be changed from time to time, she said, adding: "Investors will not invest if there is no stability in policy."

Stressing greater connectivity of all regional countries, ADB's Dhaka chief said the proposed Dhaka-Kolkata passenger rail link was an "extreme encouragement" for regional cooperation.

She said the government should partially reduce subsidies to various sectors, including energy and fuel.

She said fixing a priority for subsidies was important.

"The revenue collections in Bangladesh were 10.6 percent, lowest among the countries of the region. The government needs to see which sectors need subsidy," she said.

"Subsidy should not go to the wrong groups."

 

[Raquib]

Hua Du sees economy recover

Sun, Mar 2nd, 2008 5:20 pm BdST
Dhaka, March 02 (bdnews24.com) — The Asian Development Bank's Dhaka mission chief said Sunday the economy had recovered from the losses left by twin floods and a devastating cyclone.

Hua Du, the country director of the Manila-based agency, also forecast bright economic performance in the days to come.

"(About) 50 percent of Bangladesh economy has recovered. I think the economy will go up further," Hua Du said in a meeting with the members of the Overseas Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (OCAB) at the National Press Club.

She appreciated the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts after the Nov15 cyclone.

The ADB chief said Bangladesh had a capability to become a middle-income country with per capita income of $1,000 in 2015-20 if stable investment policies were adopted.

Currently, the country's per capita income is $470.

"If Bangladesh remains stable, ensures availability of energy and electricity, develops infrastructure and sets up connectivity, the economy has a very good future," she said.

On poor implementation of the annual development programme, Hua Du said there was a sluggish trend in the implementation of the ADP over the years.

"We have the second half in hand. I hope it will increase in the second half (January to June)," she said.

Hua Du said instability did not necessarily mean that a "civil war" was going on here but it meant inconsistency of policies too.

Policies should not be changed from time to time, she said, adding: "Investors will not invest if there is no stability in policy."

Stressing greater connectivity of all regional countries, ADB's Dhaka chief said the proposed Dhaka-Kolkata passenger rail link was an "extreme encouragement" for regional cooperation.

She said the government should partially reduce subsidies to various sectors, including energy and fuel.

She said fixing a priority for subsidies was important.

"The revenue collections in Bangladesh were 10.6 percent, lowest among the countries of the region. The government needs to see which sectors need subsidy," she said.

"Subsidy should not go to the wrong groups."

 

[Raquib]

Forex reserve hits $6b
Unb, Dhaka

The country's foreign exchange reserve crossed US$ 6 billion mark for the first time, backed by substantial increase in foreign aid coupled with sales proceeds from the majority shares in troubled Oriental Bank.

“In addition to common factors like robust remittance, the forex reserve rose to the level due mainly to substantial inflow of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and about US$ 50 million of Oriental Bank sales proceeds,” a senior Bangladesh Bank executive said yesterday.

He said the commercial banks also deposited some more foreign currencies with the central bank as the forex market remained a bit liquid, contributing to crossing the mark.

The foreign exchange reserve stood just over US$ 6 billion at the closing Sunday, he added.

“The reserve could have reached the mark much earlier unless the central bank had to release around US$ 350 million mainly for increased import of food items and fuel oil,” said the executive.

Switzerland-based ICB Financial Group Holdings AG Thursday signed the sale-purchase agreement to take over 50.16 shares of the troubled Oriental Bank, after paying over Tk 350 crore equivalent to around US$ 50 million.

The Bangladesh Bank executive said the reserve position would, however, decline by around US$ 730 million by this week due to the regular bimonthly payment to Asian Clearing Union (ACU). The payment will have to be settled no later than Thursday (March 6).

He said the ACU payment would also be record highest this week, about double than any other earlier payments, as Bangladesh had imported huge quantity of food and fuel oil from the ACU member countries, mainly India.

“Even after ACU payment, the forex reserve will hover over US$ 5 billion mark,” he said, adding that it would remain at a range between US$ 5.2 billion and US$ 5.3 billion.

Bangladesh Bank sources said the reserve stood lower at $5.4 billion as of end January this year against $5.5 billion as of end December 2007 due to ACU payment of $452 million on January 6, 2008.

However, the reserve was markedly higher than the $3.7 billion as of end January 2007.

Meanwhile, robust remittance, increased foreign aid as well as a rebound in exports by the end of the first half of the current fiscal year contributed to raising the reserve to the level.

During the first half of the current fiscal year, remittance receipts increased by $832.28 million or 25 percent to $4.2 billion against $3.3 billion during the same period last fiscal year, according to Bangladesh bank figures.

Total aid disbursements during the July-December 2007 period doubled to $768.48 million from $384.59 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

:The Daily Star: Internet Edition

 

[khanz]

nice to see bangladesh progressing

 

[Raquib]

Thailand keen to sign FTA with Bangladesh

FE Report

Thailand is keen to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Bangladesh to bolster bilateral trade, commerce and investment.

"Signing FTA will help deepen economic ties between Thailand and Bangladesh," Chalermpol Thanchitt, ambassador of Thailand to Bangladesh, said Monday in the city.

He said both the countries can start negotiation for signing such a deal to pave the way for promotion of trade. It will help brining Thai investment in Bangladesh.

Many Thai companies are now planning to relocate their businesses in Bangladesh, Thanchitt told a press conference, arranged ahead of the Thailand Exhibition titled 'Explore the Finest Thai Healthcare, Beauty and Spa'.

The exhibition will be held at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel during March 5-8. Some 43 Thai manufacturers and exporters will participate in the exhibition to showcase their products and exchange views with the local businessmen.

The companies will put on display 11 categories of products, including chemicals, construction materials, hardware and machinery, auto parts and accessories, electrical appliances, food and beverages, garments and textiles.

Apart form this, there will be Thai food festival at Westin Hotel in Dhaka from March 8 to 18, at Aristocrat Restaurant in Dhaka from March 9-12 and at the Pavilion Restaurant in Chittagong from March 13-15.

"Thailand is planning to organise many other activities in Bangladesh to strengthen trade ties between two countries," ambassador of Royal Thai embassy said.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/sear...p;news_id=27078

 

[Raquib]

US ad group wants to secure strong foothold in Bangladesh
A Z M Anas

Ogilvy and Mather, a US advertising group, has launched its direct operation in Bangladesh to secure a strong foothold, tapping the fast-growing local ad market, a top company executive said Monday.

"It's an important consumer market in Asia," Miles Young, who heads the company's Asia Pacific operations said.

"The country's ad market is relatively small by Asian standards. But Bangladesh is a tiger cub. Few countries are growing at a rate Bangladesh is doing. So, we are looking at it strategically," Young told the FE in an interview.

He said a vibrant economy and its 20 million middle class consumers galvanised Ogilvy into bolstering its presence in Bangladesh.

The country's ad market has been expanding at a double digit rate over the years and has the potential to grow further.

By various estimates, more than 500 advertisement companies are operating in Bangladesh and of them some 50 are members of the Advertising Agencies Association of Bangladesh, the industry lobby.

The size of Bangladesh's ad market is estimated at Tk 10 billion, with Bitopi, Grey, Unitrend, Adcom and Interspeed being top players.

Young, who is now in the capital to launch the country operation, said his company's aim is to become what he called the "best" player.

"We want to please our clients and build quality. We want to be the largest and the best, although size has never been an objective," he said.

Young denied that the New York-based Ogilvy's presence would elbow out the local companies in the race, saying every market should have a balance between multinationals and locals and there should be a healthy competition.

"It's good to have competition. Local companies need to decide whether they should be local or become international," he said.

Young said his company's decades-long expertise in brand campaign and its position as a global player would help it cement its strength in Bangladesh's ad industry.

"We build brand out of products and try to sell it … rationally. Our experience with IBM and Dove has allowed us to be one of top ten players in the world and the number one in the Asia Pacific region. And these are our selling points," he said.

As mobile telephony has revolutionised Bangladesh's ad architecture, the Oxford-educated company executive said his company will bet big on the country's burgeoning sector in the near future.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/sear...p;news_id=27064

 

[Raquib]

NY-based ad firm debuts in Bangladesh
Star Business Report

A New York-based ad firm, Ogilvy and Mather, started its direct operations in Bangladesh on a joint venture basis yesterday.

'We see the future beyond today' that gets us involved in direct operations in Bangladesh, Miles Young, chairman of Ogilvy and Mather's Asia Pacific zone, told a function in Dhaka.

Ogilvy and Mather Communications Ltd has partnered with Marka, a local company, with 70: 30 equity.

Advertisement industry has huge prospects in Bangladesh, said Young.

He said: “With its huge population and consumers, the future of Bangladesh's advertisement industry must be bright.”

Young also focused on developing Bangladesh's own brands and building competitions among the firms for a sustainable growth of the industry.

He asked local entrepreneurs to create and develop the idea of brands to promote the economy.

“Bangladesh also needs to develop healthy competitions among the advertising agencies to develop the sector furthermore,” Miles added.

The current size of Bangladesh's ad market is around TK 1,000 crore.

:The Daily Star: Internet Edition

 

[Raquib]

Remittance grows over 26pc in 8 months
Star Business Report

The amount of inward remittances crossed $4.8 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, marking more than 26 percent rise over the same period of the previous fiscal, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics.

The country received $4.827 billion in remittances during the July-February period of fiscal year 2007-08 compared to $3.824 billion during the corresponding period of FY2006-07.

Meanwhile, the country's foreign exchange reserve reached a new high at $6,015.52 million as of yesterday, mainly due to robust growth of remittance and the donor agencies -- World Bank and Asian Development Bank -- that have recently paid $100 million and $50 million respectively.

According to BB, Bangladeshi nationals working abroad remitted $676 million in February which was $710 million in January. The monthly remittance figure of January was a record in the country's history, BB sources said.

The country's private and state-owned commercial banks are trying their best to increase the flow of inward remittances from different parts of the world, including the Middle East, United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore to meet their growing demands for foreign exchange, sources said.

:The Daily Star: Internet Edition

 

[Raquib]

Remittance grows over 26pc in 8 months
Star Business Report

The amount of inward remittances crossed $4.8 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, marking more than 26 percent rise over the same period of the previous fiscal, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics.

The country received $4.827 billion in remittances during the July-February period of fiscal year 2007-08 compared to $3.824 billion during the corresponding period of FY2006-07.

Meanwhile, the country's foreign exchange reserve reached a new high at $6,015.52 million as of yesterday, mainly due to robust growth of remittance and the donor agencies -- World Bank and Asian Development Bank -- that have recently paid $100 million and $50 million respectively.

According to BB, Bangladeshi nationals working abroad remitted $676 million in February which was $710 million in January. The monthly remittance figure of January was a record in the country's history, BB sources said.

The country's private and state-owned commercial banks are trying their best to increase the flow of inward remittances from different parts of the world, including the Middle East, United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore to meet their growing demands for foreign exchange, sources said.

:The Daily Star: Internet Edition

 

[Raquib]

HIGHER ECONOMIC TRAJECTORY
Bangladesh ready to rival Asia's mighty manufacturing hubs

By ERIC PRIDEAUX

Sure, the shipping distance from Japan to this sprawling industrial park might be great, and his trucks must sometimes compete with rickshaws and livestock on the crowded roads outside its walls.

But overall, Yasufumi Matsuo, executive director at Japanese electronic parts maker Op-Seed Co.'s factory in Chittagong, is happy with conditions at the Export Processing Zone here in Bangladesh's main port town, where local workers at his plant manufacture buttons and light-emitting diode displays used in vending machines assembled back in Japan.

"They make good products," said Matsuo, who has run the plant for a decade. While he wants improvements in water supply and, to reduce downtime, electricity generation, his 1,200 workers get the job done well, he said. "They hold their own against workers in China and Thailand."

Despite years of corruption that hindered growth by, for example, snarling maritime traffic at Chittagong, Bangladeshi business conditions are improving. Bangladeshi leaders want Japan to invest more in their domestic businesses and consume more exports, saying Bangladesh now has a competitive edge over China as a key economic partner.

In a country with per capita gross domestic product of $1,400 (¥151,000), compared to $33,800 (¥3.7 million), in Japan, building those ties is a priority.

Not that this country of 150.4 million mostly Muslims has been languishing. Annual growth has averaged 5.6 percent over the past 10 years, with last year's rate of 6.7 the highest-ever. A top government official believes that despite November's catastrophic cyclone Sidr, growth this year will hover around a respectable 6.0 percent — above the world average.

"What frustrates me is that we could have touched 8, 8.5 percent (growth) easily" had there been cleaner politics in the land, remarked well-known leather-goods and pharmaceuticals businessman Syed Manzur Elahi, who serves as administrator at the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Elahi is not alone in issuing bold claims. According to a 2000 report for the World Bank titled "Estimating the Effects of Corruption Implications for Bangladesh," if the country had reduced corruption "to levels existing in transition economies like Poland," growth in 1990-97 could have risen by more than half.

Real growth of 8.5 percent would put Bangladesh on the same economic trajectory as India, with which it shares a long border, and well on the way to China's 10.5 percent. But as long as it was business as usual at Chittagong in Bangladesh's southeast, near the border with Myanmar, Bangladeshi manufacturers could not hope to be competitive on a global scale.

Port authorities demanded "speed money," or bribes, before letting goods pass. And even when officials' palms had been duly greased, other miscellaneous port delays made it difficult for Bangladeshi companies to complete overseas orders in fewer than 90 days — twice the time needed in No. 1 competitor China, Elahi said.

This began to change after leaders responded to an outbreak of political unrest by imposing a state of emergency on Jan. 11, 2007. An interim government assumed power, arresting scores of politicians and businessmen suspected of shady dealings.

Some Bangladeshis have grumbled about the state of emergency because elections have been suspended until this December. But by slashing red tape the political deep freeze has allowed the caretaker government to cut ships' waiting time at Chittagong by some 70 percent to four days, giving domestic manufacturers a new edge on such big competitors as China, Elahi said.

Foreign manufacturers still worry about Bangladesh's underdeveloped infrastructure, but the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority is trying to put their concerns to rest.

For example, at the processing zone in South Halishahar, Chittagong, where Japan's Op-Seed has its plant, there are plans to put 50 megawatts of new power generation online in September, expand treatment of water waste and beef up high-speed communications networks to enable video conferencing between the eight Export Processing Zones and overseas offices.

Meanwhile, officials said monthly worker wages of some $30 make Bangladesh more competitive than their counterparts in Vietnam, where they said wages were $80, or China, where wages reach $100. The comfortable business environment has attracted manufacturers supplying parts to such blue-chip Japanese companies as Minolta, Sony and Nissan, according to BEPZA.

Removing obstacles to exports at home is one thing, but another important challenge for Bangladesh is to diversify its overseas markets for woven garments and knitwear, which together account for about three-fourths of exports, and other products such as frozen shrimp, leather and goods made of the vegetable fiber jute. Just over half go to the European Union, while about a third travel to the Americas.

On the other hand, Bangladeshi trade officials say Japan, the world's second-largest economy, absorbs only about 2 percent of exports partly because of stringent requirements to document that goods originated in Bangladesh.

Also, Bangladeshi officials say Japan sets higher quality standards than large Western buyers, making it uneconomical to build relationships with Japan until larger demand emerges.

"Why should I take the extra botheration of having a fully air-conditioned factory for exporting to Japan and the amount of the export order is only $10,000? It's not feasible," said Faridul Hassan, director general at the Ministry of Commerce's Export Promotion Bureau, speaking as a hypothetical exporter slapped with higher requirements to refrigerate export goods.

Conditions are beginning to change, however, as rising labor costs in China, Japan's largest trading partner, will compel China to up its export prices, Bangladeshi trade officials say.

"Our price is quite competitive in comparison to China and the rest of the world," said Shahab Ullah, vice chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau. "There is a growing realization among Japanese policymakers that there has to be China, plus one country. They're looking for it."

An encouraging sign came during a Bangladeshi trade fair in Japan one year ago. On display were a dozen or so products, including ceramics, ready-made garments, textiles, leather products and jute goods.

Japanese visitors were impressed by the quality, Ullah said. For one, there were immediate "spot" orders worth about $1 million and potential orders twice that value, he said, adding that many of the relationships forged that day have taken root.

"Our commodities are coming up," Ullah said. "A serious market is in the process of being opened."

Source: The Japan Times

 

[Raquib]

Bangladesh gets $ 14.56m export orders from US trade show

The Bangladesh companies were very successful in earning export orders to the tune of US $ 1.36 million as confirmed and US $ 13.2 million as prospective one from ASAP Show in Las Vegas, USA. Some of the participating companies informed that negotiation is still going on with the newly contacted buyers to materialize those orders.

Besides, 119 business enquiries were received and 160 new contacts established during the fair. Most of the companies were highly optimistic about achieving significant business from the buyers contacted through our participation in ASAP Show.
Bangladesh participated in the 13th edition of ASAP (Apparel Sourcing Association Pavilion) Global Sourcing Show, a premier Apparel Exposition held recently in Las Vegas, USA, an export promotion bureau press release said here today. Thirteen garments exporting companies, members of BGMEA & BKMEA took part in the show under the auspices of Export Promotion Bureau.

The show was held in Sand Exposition Hall of very famous Venation Hotel. Apart from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Macao, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Chain, Korea, Sri Lanka, Israel, were among the other nations attended the show. A wide variety of woven and knit garments such as T- Shirt, Polo Shirt, Sweat Shirt, Tank-Top, trousers, Shirts were exhibited in Bangladesh Stand during the fair. Bangladesh Stand have had a befitting look along side other participating countries and successfully made impact on the visiting importers and buyers. Almost 400-500 hundred buyers registered with the ASAP visited the show and were seen enthusiastic about Dhaka’s apparel products.

Besides these registered buyers, some buying agents of world famous Wal-mart, K-mart, Kumer Group, Nautica, GAP, Target also visited Bangladesh Stand. All the visiting buyers had a lot of praise for Bangladeshi garments. They also discussed some key issues like child labour, timely shipment, compliance issue, quality management and shipment under LDP system to augment Bangladesh’s export to the US market.

Bangladesh Ambassador to United States Humayun Kabir visited Bangladesh pavilion and discussed various issues and strategy with the participants and as well as with the buyers. Expressing the same opinion, the ambassador requested the participating companies to address the issues raised by the visiting buyers to take advantage of the huge US market.

bdmilitary.com

 

[Raquib]

New labour wings can be opened in overseas missions: Govt body
Star Business Report

An inter-ministerial committee has recommended steps to assess demands for manpower in various sectors, both at home and abroad, and develop skills accordingly to reduce unemployment rate.

The committee, headed by labour and employment secretary, also proposed bilateral arrangements with overseas employers for setting up vocational training centres to train job seekers for immediate employment.

The report, prepared by the committee and presented during a discussion at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) yesterday, said all the Bangladesh missions abroad should give the highest priority to overseas employment and that new labour wings may be opened in the countries that have labour demands.

"We shall lose our labour market abroad, if we cannot train the workers in line with the requirements," he said, adding that most recruiting agencies unfortunately do not give much emphasis on the issue.

“The skills of the workers do not match the requirements of the employers that forces workers to take other jobs at lower wages,” Labor and Employment Adviser Anwarul Iqbal said.

"These people sell lands and borrow money to go abroad, but return homes with little income. They find no option other than committing suicide and crimes when they return home," Anwarul Iqbal, also adviser to Local Government and Rural Development, said.

Urging recruiting agents to select the jobseekers from the database of BMET, he said unless they do it, the government might itself do the task of selecting the aspirant migrants for overseas employment. "This will surely not be a good thing for the recruiting agents."

BMET Director Nurul Islam said the government may introduce quality assurance scheme to ensure quality of training.

:The Daily Star: Internet Edition

 

[Raquib]

Bangladesh To Continue To Boost Garment Sector

The government has taken necessary steps to maintain the current momentum of progress in the country's garment sector so that it could survive in the competition of quota-free world, said Textiles and Jute Adviser Mohammed Anwarul Iqbal.

He made the remarks at a daylong seminar titled New Vision and Development of National Institute of Textile Training, Research and Design (NITTRAD): Presentation of Assessment Reports at a city hotel Thursday.

The seminar was organized by the Ministry of Textiles and Jute in cooperation with Bangladesh Quality Support Programme (BQSP) of European Union (EU) and United Nations Industrial Development Organizations (UNIDO), aiming to improve the productivity and quality of textiles and RMG products so that the textiles and RMG sector could survive in the competition of global and domestic markets.

In his speech, the Adviser said the country's garment sector has now become a US$4 billion foreign exchange earner, enjoying the status of one of the largest garment and T-shirt exporters to the EU and also one of the largest apparel exporters to the USA.

With the MFA being phased out from 2005, the manufacturers and exporters of RMG in Bangladesh are competing in a greater context on the global apparel market, he told the seminar.

"Now the country has a very liberal investment climate. It takes, for instance, just three days for a foreign investment registration and there is no discrimination between foreign and local private investors. Hundred percent foreign investment as well as joint ventures with local partners are allowed here," Iqbal said.

Considering the problems facing by the textile sector, he said, "Whatever might be the problems ahead of us, the trend of our progress in this sector shows that a new generation of entrepreneurs have emerged."

He hoped that the present rate of development in the overall textile sector in the country will continue and the country's foreign currency earning from RMG export would cross US$5 billion before 2010.

Textiles and Jute Secretary Abdur Rashid Sarker presided over the opening session. Officials from different ministries, representatives from EU, UNIDO, BQSP, BTMA, BGMEA, BKMEA and BIFT attended the seminar.

Different issues such as spinning, weaving, dying, knitting and quality control came up for discussion in five sessions of the seminar.

Later, an agreement was signed between NITTRAD and Niederrhein University of Germany to upgrade the education and training facilities of NITTRAD.

Marie Louise Klotz, Dean of the department of Textile and Clothing of Niederrhein University, and Shamsul Alam, principal of NITTRAD, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Source: AsiaPulse

 

[Raquib]

Bangladesh garment exports show strong recovery in January

Bangladesh's garment exports grew strongly on the back of hefty exports to major markets in Europe and the United States, signalling a recovery by the vital industry, officials said on Saturday.

Exports grew by 58 percent in January to 957 million dollars from the same month a year earlier, latest available official figures showed.

"It's a huge comeback for our garments industry. After some bad times, we have now shown our capability and there are signs that growth will remain robust," the head of the government's export promotion bureau Shahab Ullah said.

Bangladesh's garment exports were in negative territory during the first five months of the fiscal year starting in July as a result of continued fallout from labour unrest and political turmoil.

But they began picking up in December.

Labour unrest has begun to decline with promises by companies to improve working conditions and low wages and there has been relative political stability since the installation of a military-backed government in early 2007.

The garment trade is the backbone of Bangladesh's manufacturing industry, accounting for 80 percent of overall exports and 40 percent of the country's industrial jobs.

Exporters said the January growth showed that Bangladesh can compete as a top garment exporting nation.

"We've shown we can beat China in prices and quality, and buyers from Europe and the US are now flocking in," Anwar ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said.

Garment export sales fetched 9.3 billion dollars out of a total 12.18 billion dollars in export earnings in the last financial year to June 2007.

Parvez forecast this year garment exports would cross 11 billion dollars.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080315/wl_st...le_080315161515

 

[Raquib]

Garments eye $18b export by 2010 as China struggles with strong Yuan

Mushir Ahmed

Manufacturers eye an 18 billion dollars of garment exports in 2010, as strong Chinese and Indian currencies have hit their exports hard, while a weak Taka make Bangladeshi items the cheapest in the world, officials said.

Their comments came as the Export Promotion Bureau said Saturday the country's exports grew 51 per cent in January year-on-year, on the back of 'stunning' performance by readymade garments.

The country exported goods over 1.23 billion dollars, which is at least 51 per cent more than figure of last January, with garments accounting for over three-fourths of the tally.

The performance pushed the seven months export growth to 9.78 per cent to a total 7.73 billion dollars.

"It's a very good come-back for our garments industry. And trends of February and March show that the growth would remain robust this year," head of government's export promotion bureau Shahab Ullah said.

Knitted items such as T-shirts, pullover led the growth with 69 per cent increase and and the woven garment items such as trousers soared by 49 per cent.

"We had some bad time in July-September. But we gradually picked up steam since then," the EPB chief said.

The country's export was in the negative territory in the first five months of the fiscal year beginning from July due to the continued fallout of labour unrest and political turmoil since late 2006.

In December garments showed first signs of major recovery, pushing the six months growth to positive territory of three per cent to 4.9 billion dollars.

Exporters said the January growth showed the impact of the 2006-7 turmoil is over and Bangladesh making rapid strides to emerge as the most serious challenger to China.

"We have proved what we are capable of. We beat China both in prices and quality in some categories," Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) chief Anwarul Alam Chowdhury Parvez said.

He said garment exports would fetch at least 11 billion dollars this year, as most of the factories have been swamped with orders.

Statistics released by the US commerce department shows that Bangladeshi made knitted cotton trouser, a major export item, beat China in volumes for the first time in history.

"If the political stability remains and there is no fresh major labour troubles, we will export 14 billion dollars next year and over 18 billion by 2010," he added.

The country's exporters have already expanded their facilities to cope with orders over 15 billion dollars, but could not utilise the capacity last year because of the political and labour troubles.

According to the BGMEA, despite the turmoil, the country imported 104,000 units textile and garments machinery last year, which is three times the figure of 2003.

Fazlul Haq, the leader of knitwear manufacturers association, said the appreciation of Chinese Yuan and Indian Rupee has played a key role in making Bangladeshi-made garments the darling to international buyers.

"There is hardly anyone who can compete us in price. Factories in China and India have become sick because of their appreciating currencies. They can no longer compete with us," he said.

Chinese Yuan appreciated seven per cent against US dollar last year and three per cent in the first two months this year. Indian Rupees have gained over 11 per cent against dollar in 2007.

In contrast, Taka has appreciated less than one per cent against the ailing US dollar since July last year.

The Wall Street Journal in a recent report said thousands of garment factories in China's coastal belt have closed their shutters due to the appreciating Yuan and wage pressure.

"The buyers now see Bangladesh the best destination to do shopping as the hangover of last year's turmoil is over.

"Price aside, our products have become superior in quality and Chittagong Port the most efficient in its history," he said.

"In addition, industrial expansion is going on unabated, with one factory being set up in every two days," Haq said.

Garments export sales fetched 9.3 billion dollars out of a total 12.18 billion dollars in export earnings in the last financial year to June 2007.

The factories employ around 40 percent of the country's total industrial workforce, according to the World Bank.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/sear...p;news_id=28193