ข่ าวเด่ นประจาสั ปดาห์ จากบังกลาเทศ
1-15 October 2014
รวบรวมโดย สำนักงำนส่งเสริมกำรค้ำระหว่ำงประเทศ ณ กรุงธำกำ
Business News
Headlines:
1.Global denim suppliers eye Bangladesh for expansion
2. Govt to import wheat from Ukraine
3.Business climate looks up, rank slips
1.Global denim suppliers eye Bangladesh for expansion
The Daily Star
Published: 12:00 am Thursday, October 16, 2014
Link: http://www.thedailystar.net/global-denim-suppliers-eye-bangladesh-for-expansion-45849
Vicunha, one of the largest denim fabric suppliers in Latin America, seeks to increase its business with
Bangladesh as buyers are shifting business to the country from Europe and China.
“Our main focus is to boost business here for Bangladesh's strong potential in the garment
industry,” Julien Eickelmann, commercial manager of Vicunha, said at the launch of an
exposition on denim and jeans at Radisson Hotel in Dhaka yesterday.
Vicunha that supplies denim fabrics to Bangladesh customers has a capacity to produce 17
million metres of fabric a month.
“The market is important to us as we have a number of Bangladeshi clients. We have a
warehouse in Sri Lanka that helps us provide quick service to our Bangladeshi clients.”
Eickelmann said his firm is taking part in the expo as it is keen on expanding its business in a
growing market like Bangladesh.
A website dedicated to the world's denim industry, denimsandjeans.com, organised the twoday expo.
KG Fabriks, an Indian denim maker, has joined the fair to gain international exposure, said K
Srinivasa Raghavan, its assistant general manger.
“We are working to increase business with Bangladesh.”
HR Corporation, a unit of Aziz Group, that imports chemicals from Germany for local denim
makers, joined the fair to market its products, said Fazle Rabbi, its assistant executive for
marketing.
“We are also displaying an environment-friendly machine that washes jeans without water and
chemicals,” said Rabbi. “We are focusing on green technology in the denim segment.”
This is a platform to showcase products and designs for this sector, said Asikul Hoque Khan,
marketing manager at Envoy Textiles, which exports denim to Sri Lanka, Turkey, Kenya, China
and Vietnam.
Bangladeshi firms need around 30 million metres of denim a month; Envoy produces 3.6 million
metres of denim a month out of its capacity of four million metres, he added. Appreciating
Bangladesh's growth in the apparel sector, Pankaj Saran, Indian high commissioner in Dhaka,
said: “Bangladesh, today, is a serious player and can't be ignored.”
The exhibition is a shining example of Bangladesh's emergence as a global garment
manufacturer and exporter, Saran added.
The Indian envoy appreciated Bangladesh's progress in meeting the highest standards in its
products for the global consumers.
Bangladesh is addressing three issues -- workplace safety, eco-friendly products and building
better infrastructure -- to grab more business, said Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Bangladesh has 28 green factories, he said. “We have gained a positive image through the
Alliance and the Accord.”
He urged the media to send a positive message that Bangladesh is the best in the global
garment market. “I must say there is no need to go to the East or West for high quality
garment.”
Expressing satisfaction over positive responses from the participants, Islam said Bangladesh has
proved that all the factories are not substandard.
Referring to the Rana Plaza building collapse, he said this is a unique example of how a country
can re-emerge as a vibrant sector after experiencing a disaster that tarnished its image in the
global market.
In the first such expo in March, Saran had inaugurated the event and visited each of the stalls
and interacted with the participants.
This edition of the expo is focusing on industry growth and luring in buyers to Bangladesh for
quality jeans and related apparel.
“Bangladesh is the second largest denim apparel maker country in the world after China.
Bangladesh has been introduced worldwide as a denim and jeans maker,” said Sandeep
Agarwal, founder of denimsandjeans.com.
Bangladesh exported about 74 million pieces of denim apparel to the US market in 2013 and
around 140 million to Europe, according to denimsandjeans.com.
The country was also the largest exporter of men's jeans to Europe in 2013 with 89 million
pieces compared to 65 million from China.
Denim apparel exports from Bangladesh to America surged 11.48 percent year-on-year in 2013
and to the EU by over 19.65 percent.
Twenty-four companies from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Germany, China and Brazil
are taking part in the show.
2. Govt to import wheat from Ukraine
The Daily Star
Published: 12:00 am Monday, October 27, 2014
Link: http://www.thedailystar.net/govt-to-import-wheat-from-ukraine-47574
The government is set to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of wheat, each unit at $297.50, from Ukraine
through state level arrangement.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith approved the proposal for the import in a meeting with the
cabinet committee on economic affairs yesterday. The proposal comes with a waiver from the
Public Procurement Regulations.
A target of collecting 9 lakh tonnes of wheat through import has been set in this fiscal year's
budget.
Bidders sometimes fail to supply wheat on time although it is imported through international
bidding, according to the proposal.
Last fiscal year, tender was floated to import wheat under 10 packages, but the concerned
bidders could not supply wheat even after getting the work order.
The tender under four packages had to be cancelled later. Work orders of four bidders were
cancelled and their performance guarantee money was forfeited, the food ministry said.
Wheat is being imported through state level arrangement alongside international bidding to
ensure satisfactory stock of wheat, the ministry said.
The government has so far imported 3.12 lakh tonnes of wheat from Ukraine, of which 2 lakh
tonnes were imported in the last fiscal year.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs also okayed construction of an LPG (liquefied
petroleum gas) bottling plant at Kumira in Chittagong under public private partnership
initiative.
Around 1 lakh tonnes of LPG gas will be imported from Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Abu
Dhabi and Kuwait and will be sold in different areas of Bangladesh.
Under this project, the government has a plan to produce and distribute LPG in 6.5 kg, 12.5 kg,
20 kg, 40 kg and 50 kg cylinders in union, upazila and small towns as per the demand of the
customers, the energy division proposal said.
Around 1 lakh tonnes of LPG is bottled at government and non-government levels in country,
much lower from its demand of 5 lakh tonnes.
The bottling plant will require Tk 248 crore in addition to develop 10 acres of land. The cost for
land development has been estimated at around Tk 22 crore.
The government will provide the land and private entrepreneurs will bear the rest of the cost.
The government has decided not to extend residential gas lines to new areas, according to the
proposal. New gas connection will be given to areas where lines exist.
After the meeting of the economic affairs committee, a meeting of the cabinet committee on
purchase gave nod to the proposal for import of 1 lakh tonnes of fertiliser at a cost of Tk 270
crore.
3.Business climate looks up, rank slips
Bangladesh down three notches on WB's Doing Business list
The Daily Star
Published: 12:00 am Thursday, October 30, 2014
Link: http://www.thedailystar.net/business-climate-looks-up-rank-slips-47970
The country's business regulatory environment improved from last year but it was not enough
to bump up Bangladesh's ranking in the World Bank's index on the ease of doing business.
Bangladesh came in at 173 among 189 nations on the Doing Business list, down from 170 last
year. India stood at 142, Pakistan 128 and Sri Lanka 99.
Bangladesh slipped because of slower pace of reforms relative to other countries, said Zahid
Hussain, lead economist at the World Bank's Dhaka office.
Besides, new countries have been included in the list and they are ahead of Bangladesh in
regulatory reforms, he said.
The ranking does not reflect how the business regulatory environment in the economy has
changed since last year, and that is where the Distance to Frontier (DTF) score comes in.
This measure shows how far on average an economy is from the best performance achieved by
any economy on each 'Doing Business' indicator.
Bangladesh's DTF score this year was 46.84, up from last year's 46.4, according to the report of
the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank
Group.
The report that focuses on where businesses are best helped and least hindered by
governments was released globally yesterday.
South Asia's average DTF score stood at 54.56; India scored 53.97, Pakistan 56.64 and Sri Lanka
61.36.
At present, starting a business in Bangladesh takes 19.5 days and 9 procedures and costs 16.8
percent of income per capita. In contrast, it takes 28.4 days in India, 19 days in Pakistan and 11
days in Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka too, it requires 9 procedures to launch a business. In India, it takes 11.9 and in
Pakistan 10.
Globally, Bangladesh stands at 144 in the ranking of 189 economies on the ease of dealing with
construction permits. India came at 184, Pakistan 125 and Sri Lanka 60.
The country's DTF score for construction permits was 61.9, also double of neighbouring India
but lower than Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which managed 66.07 and 76.5, respectively.
Access to reliable and affordable electricity is vital for businesses, and according to the data
collected by the Doing Business report, it requires 9 procedures, 428.9 days and costs 3,890.1
percent of income per capita to get power connection in Bangladesh.
The country stands at 188 in the raking of 189 economies on the ease of getting electricity.
Ensuring formal property rights is fundamental, and effective administration of land is part of
that, the report said.
If formal property transfer is too costly or complicated, formal titles might go informal again.
And where property is informal or poorly administered, it has little chance of being accepted as
collateral for loans -- limiting access to finance. Registering property in the country requires
eight procedures, takes 244 days and costs 7.2 percent of the property value.
Subsequently, its ranking out of 189 is 184 in this field, which is way below its neighbouring
countries. Pakistan comes in at 114, followed by India at 121 and Sri Lanka 131.
Two types of frameworks can facilitate access to credit and improve its allocation: credit
information systems and borrowers and lenders in collateral and bankruptcy laws, it said.
Credit information systems enable lenders' rights to view a potential borrower's financial
history (positive or negative) -- valuable information to consider when assessing risk. And they
permit borrowers to establish a good credit history that will allow easier access to credit.
Sound collateral laws enable businesses to use their assets, especially movable property, as
security to generate capital -- while strong creditors' rights have been associated with higher
ratios of private sector credit to GDP, the report said.
The economy has a score of zero on the depth of credit information index and a score of 6 on
the strength of legal rights index. Higher scores indicate more credit information and stronger
legal rights for borrowers and lenders.
Bangladesh stands at 131 on the ease of getting credit. In contrast, India comes in at 36, Sri
Lanka at 189 and Pakistan 131.
Protecting minority investors matters for the ability of companies to raise the capital they need
to grow, innovate, diversify and compete, according to the report.
Effective regulations define related-party transactions precisely, promote clear and efficient
disclosure requirements, require shareholder participation in major decisions of the company
and set detailed standards of accountability for company insiders.
The economy has a score of 6.1 on the strength of minority investor protection index, with a
higher score indicating stronger protections.
Bangladesh stands at 43 in the ranking of 189 economies on the strength of minority investor
protection index.
In terms of ease of trading across borders, Bangladesh stands at 140.
Exporting a standard container of goods from Bangladesh requires six documents, takes 28.3
days and costs $1,281. Importing the same container of goods requires 9 documents, takes 33.6
days and costs $1,515, the study found.
Contract enforcement, ever so vital for businesses, takes 1,442 days, costs 66.8 percent of the
value of the claim and requires 41 procedures in Bangladesh.
Subsequently, it came second from bottom in the rankings for the ease of enforcing contract. A
robust bankruptcy system functions as a filter, ensuring the survival of economically efficient
companies and reallocating the resources of inefficient ones, the report said. Fast and cheap
insolvency proceedings result in the speedy return of businesses to normal operation and
increase returns to creditors.