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Mauritius prez invites Pakistani textile exporters

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pakistan textile

President of Mauritius, Dr Ameenah Firdaus Guarib-Fakim has invited the All Pakistan Textile Manufacturing Association (APTMA) to invest in the island nation, according to reports in the Pakistani media. During a meeting with an APTMA delegation, led by its Chairman Tariq Saud in Karachi on Wednesday, the Mauritian President highlighted the huge opportunities available in the technical textile sector in her country which remains unexplored. She said that Mauritius is among the top six countries in Africa, which is recommended to people who wish to relocate. “It is one of the leading states in the African region for ease of doing business and good governance, as per the World Bank Doing Business Survey 2016,” the President said. She suggested that the Pakistani textile entrepreneurs could also take advantage of Mauritius to penetrate the US and European markets. Dr Guarib-Fakim said that her government provides a ten-year exemption from income tax on all income, inclusive of foreign investment under the Mauritian Diaspora Scheme. “There is no minimum capital requirement for the incorporation of a company, 100 per cent foreign ownership is allowed and there is no exchange control for foreign investment,” she added. She invited the APTMA chairman to bring a delegation to Mauritius and experience the incentives and facilities provided by their government to the foreign investors. She also asked them to arrange a fashion show of Pakistani textile brand and also showcase products for the firsthand information of the prospective buyers. APTMA Chairman Saud told the Mauritian president that there is a need for close liaison between the business community of the two countries so that the Pakistani business class can explore the Mauritian economy as well as enter the African market. He also invited Mauritian entrepreneurs for joint ventures in Pakistani textile mills.

Weaving industry seeks spl budget allocation: Cash Support Demands

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weaving industry seeks spl budget allocation: cash support demands

Weavers have proposed the government bring the weaving industry under the central bank’s Equity Entrepreneurship Fund (EEF). In its budgetary proposals, the Bangladesh Specialised Textile Mills and Power-loom Industries Association (BSTMPIAB) also urged the government to provide 20 per cent incentives on capital machinery import, keep investment ratio at 80:20 for loan and increase the cash support to 15 per cent from the existing five per cent. The written proposal was submitted to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) by the association recently ahead of the budget for the fiscal year 2016-17, it said in a statement. The association also proposed to keep special allocation for the development of weaving industry. They argued that if investment in the weaving industry increases, it will help lessen the import of woven fabric and home textile products, thus save foreign currency, while creating employment opportunity in the country. The BSTMPIAB also urged the government not force them to set up effluent treatment plants (ETP) at the small textile mills and power-looms in Siarajganj, Tangail, Narsingdi and other districts. They also called the government for keeping allocation in the upcoming budget to establish ETP in weaving hubs at government cost, since owners of small industries owner cannot afford to spend money on this.

Five RMG factory directors land in jail over import trick

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RMG Bangladesh
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five rmg factory directors land in jail over import trick

Five directors of a garment factory in Dhaka have been sent to jail by a court in connection with import of Benson cigarettes under false declaration. The court of Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Shah Noor rejected their bail prayer and issued the order on Wednesday, as the directors of the RMG (readymade garment) factory surrendered to the court. They are managing director of Genetic Fashions Ltd at Ashulia of Savar Mujibur Rahman and directors of the company Ryad Hossain Khan, Ahmedur Araj, Wahidul Islam and Tauhidul Islam. Public Prosecutor of Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s court Fakhruddin Chowdhury said the accused five businessmen surrendered before the High Court and sought bail but the court ordered them to surrender before the sessions judge’s court. As they surrendered before the sessions judge’s court and prayed for bail, the court ordered the officials to send them to jail. He also rejected their bail prayer.

Move city leather units to Savar, RMG factories to SEZs

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move city leather units to savar, rmg factories to sezs

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) urged the government on Tuesday to lower the interest rate on home loans and lessen the VAT rate on construction materials. The DCCI made the appeal, when a delegation led by its President Hossain Khaled called on Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain at the latter’s Secretariat office in the city. The DCCI president said though housing is one of the basic needs, the rate of interest on home loan is too high in the country. He called upon the government to slash the interest rate so that people could afford buying flats. The chamber leader also recommended relocation of leather processing units to Savar and garment factories to specialised economic zones (SEZs) out of Dhaka to make it a livable city. He mentioned that non-availability of gas connections resulted in lower sales of flats and apartments in recent times. He also proposed a cut in the high rate of registration fees, stamp duties, gain taxes on sales and transfer of flats and apartments. The chamber leader also urged the government to reduce the 15 per cent VAT on construction materials to reduce the costs of business in this sector. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the government has planned to construct 30,000 flats under a public-private initiative in the city’s Mirpur area. He also said that to ensure ‘Accommodation for All’ the rate of interest on housing loan should come down to a single digit level. During the meeting secretary of the ministry Shahid Ulla Khandaker, DCCI Vice President K. Atique-e-Rabbani, Directors Hossain Akhtar, Kamrul Islam, Md. Alauddin Malik, Muktar Hossain Chowdhury, Salim Akter Khan and DCCI Secretary General AHM Rezaul Kabir were also present.

Zero duty sought on fire safety equipment for all sectors: NBR PRE-BUDGET MEETING

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fire safety equipment

Leaders of associations of apparel industries and accessory makers on Tuesday sought full import duty waiver on firefighting equipment for all types of factories including the export-oriented ones in the next budget to help ensure the safety of workers and assets. At a pre-budget discussion with the National Board of Revenue, they also demanded reducing the tax at source on exports to 0.30 per cent from the existing 0.60 per cent for the readymade garment sector and consider the tax as final settlement. Representatives from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Garments Accessories and Packaging Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and other relevant associations attended the meeting at the NBR headquarters presided over by revenue board chairman Md Nojibur Rahman. BGMEA president Siddiqur Rahman said the tax authority should withdraw the existing 5 per cent import duty on fire safety equipment for the export-oriented apparel sector which will help the sector ensure compliance required by foreign buyers. The benefit will also facilitate export and safety of workers’ lives, he said.He also said there should be no import duty on the items for any sector, as factories are at risk of fire due to various reasons, including earthquakes. According to the NBR, traders from other sectors have to pay a very high duty ranging from 31.07 per cent to 129.58 per cent for importing the equipment. Regarding reduction of export source tax, Siddiqur said the revenue board should consider providing the facility at least for the next three years.Both the BGMEA and the BKMEA also demanded for reviving the facility of special tax calculation at the reduced rate of 10 per cent for RMG exporters for the next five years, which the NBR withdrew in June 2014, introducing normal tax calculation at 35 per cent for the sector. The other demands from the apparel manufacturers included withdrawal of VAT on purchase made through local letters of credit, exemption from submitting VAT returns, and an increase of time for audit document submission from the existing three to six months period. BKMEA former vice-president Mohammad Hatem said the NBR should set the RMG exporters free from the obligation of filing VAT returns, as they enjoy exemption from paying VAT. In response, NBR member (VAT policy) Jahangir Hossain said private limited companies would be excluded from deducting VAT from July next after implementation of the new VAT law. BGAPMEA former president Rafez Alam Chowdhury urged the NBR to authorise the association to provide utilisation permission to its members for import of duty-free raw materials. Bangladesh Textile Mills Association secretary general Feroz Ahmed sought withdrawal of the minimum tax, which is now 0.50 per cent of the annual turnover, for the primary textile sector. He also asked the NBR to exempt the sector from paying 1 per cent duty on capital machinery import. Among others, Bangladesh Terry Towel Exporters Association and Bangladesh Jute Goods Exporters Association also demanded reduction of the source tax on export to 0.30 per cent for their sectors.At the meeting, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Abdul Matlub Ahmad said the revenue collection process should be free from harassment and the revenue board should address the allegations of harassment. NBR chairman Nojibur said the tax authority would visit the associations to see the compliance of businesses related to income tax, VAT and customs duty. Taxmen will address the problems being faced by the businesses instantly at the offices of the associations, he said. Nojibur also urged the businesses to abstain from misusing duty-free import facility given under the bond licence.Bangladesh Textile Dying and Printing Association senior vice-president Abdullah Al Mamoon, Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association president K I Hossain, and leaders of Bangladesh Textile and Garment Waste Processors and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Jute Mills Association, among others, also spoke in the meeting.

GIZ launches mobile testing lab service

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RMG Bangladesh
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GIZ

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) launched Monday mobile testing laboratory service to provide wastewater and sludge treatment solution to ready-made garment factories in Bangladesh. The new treatment solution titled ‘fast service for more effectiveness and less pollution’ was inaugurated at a programme held at a city hotel. Rodney Reed, Team Leader-Environment, PSES-GIZ, Dr Jochen Frank Weikert, Project Coordinator, PSES-GIZ, Dr Md Sohrab Ali, Deputy Director, Waste and BIO of Department of Environment (DoE), Md Mustafizur Rahman Akhand, Deputy Director of DoE, Faruqe Hasan, Senior Vice-President of BGMEA, Bratin Roy, Vice-President of TUV SUD South Asia, Dr Ferdinand Von Weyhe, Deputy Head of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Md Muslehuddin, Deputy Chief-Planning, Ministry of Commerce, were present at the launching ceremony. More than 1,800 ready-made garment (RMG) units in and around Dhaka are releasing wastewater, containing complex mixtures of hazardous chemical both organic and inorganic, into water bodies due to lack of knowledge, little access to information, limited resources and testing facilities. The facility is equipped with sampling and measuring instruments and accessories with offers on the spot testing and services for RMG sector and calibration of meter and monitoring of environmental parameters. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Muslehuddin said Department of Environment (DoE) will review the outcomes of the tests and findings as it provides the regulatory framework.  He said they will visit small and medium RMG factories and assess the pollution, contributed by the factories, on the spot and prescribe for required solutions to this effect. According to GIZ, experts will train up the stakeholders on the best methods to treat wastewater and sludge as well as designing and training guidance for Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) and Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) to assist the process and ensure correct methodology for mitigating the risk of failures or problems. Testing methods are in line with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) methods complying with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) standards. It will also conduct workshops as well as seminars to scale up the overall information and knowledge available to the stakeholders of ready-made garment sector.

Singapore exports drop

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singapore exports drop

Singapore exports tumbled at their fastest pace in three years in March on falling shipments to Europe and China, official data showed Monday, supporting forecasts for slower economic growth and further monetary easing this year, reports AFP. Non-oil domestic exports shrank 15.6 percent year-on-year for the month, trade promotion body International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said, worse than the 12.3 percent fall analysts had projected. It was also the trade-reliant city-state’s worst export performance since a 30.6 percent year-on-year decline in February 2013, Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) said. “Singapore exports remain entrenched in a rut, raising the odds of downside risks to the local economy’s growth,” ANZ Research said in a note. “If the current trend persists, it could increase the possibility of a central bank easing at their next policy review in October.” The Monetary Authority of Singapore last Thursday announced a surprise easing of monetary policy to kickstart the stuttering economy by boosting exports as analysts warned of a possible recession. In a statement, IE Singapore said electronics exports, such as semiconductors, shrank 9.1 percent in March, compared to a 0.7 percent expansion in February. Non-electronics shipments, including pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals, declined 18 percent, reversing the previous month’s 2.6 percent growth. There was a notable dip in demand from the European Union and China, both major markets for Singapore. Exports to the EU plunged 39.1 percent from 16.1 percent growth in February while shipments to China dropped 14 percent, accelerating from a 1.2 percent decline. Exports to the US fell at a slower 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent growth in February. UOB said exports “will likely remain weak” in the first half but should improve in the second half to end the year on a slightly positive note. “However, there could be downside risks to our forecast should the uncertainties in China’s growth and oil prices perpetuate,” it said. The government projects economic growth at 1.0-3.0 percent this year, but private sector economists expect it to come in at the lower end of the range. The economy grew 2.0 percent last year. DBS Bank senior economist Irvin Seah said last week he expects growth this year at 1.5 percent, which implies at least one quarter of contraction. But the risk of a technical recession—two successive quarters of shrinkage—should not be discounted, he added.

Expansion an abstract dream for Indian industry

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RMG Bangladesh
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expansion an abstract dream for indian industry

Expansion is a distant dream for many Indian manufacturers as they grapple with under-utilised factories and towering debts, putting pressure on Prime Minister Narenda Modi to count on government spending instead of private investment to boost Asia’s third-biggest economy. There is a renewed manufacturing push under Modi’s flagship ‘Make In India’, but with global demand depressed, factories remain under-utilised and plans to increase corporate investment are left on the back burner. Capacity utilisation was at 72.5% in October-December, according to the latest Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Total capital expenditure is expected to slump 14% in the year ending March 2017, according to a Reuters analysis of 133 Indian companies for which comparable data since 2011 is available. That would be the biggest decline in at least seven years. In the industrials sector, capital spending is expected to slide 22%. In utilities, materials and energy, declines of up to 24% are expected. Squeezing cash flows further is the reluctance of commercial banks to lend despite a cut in the RBI’s key policy rate this month to a more than five-year low. Only three out of 45 domestic commercial banks have lowered interest rates, with most arguing they cannot cut costs for borrowers as they too are facing tight cash conditions. Devang Shah, head of investor relations at Tata Steel Ltd, told Reuters that the RBI rate cut would help capital expenditure but not immediately. “We don’t plan any fresh capex,” he said. Public spending, rather than private, is more likely to give a new lease of life to investment in India’s manufacturing sector, as the government pushes to increase spending on roads, railways, smart cities and renewable energy. In the government’s latest budget, $32bn will be set aside for infrastructure development, up 22.5% from the previous year, with a focus on rural communities where a drought has crushed farming incomes.

RMG remediation fund remains idle Tk 4b: BGMEA

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RMG Bangladesh
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bgmea

Some Tk 4.0 billion fund for remediation of ready-made garment (RMG) factories has been idle following poor demand from the owners due to ‘unfavourable’ interest rate, sources said. They said the country’s RMG entrepreneurs feared getting indebted through borrowing at 9-10 per cent interest rates from the fund that has a cheap foreign-aid component. Only Tk 60 million has been disbursed from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided fund to date, an apparel-sector leader said on Sunday. The Bangladesh Bank (BB) is yet to start disbursing money from the remediation fund in full swing because of high interest coupled with service charges, levied by the government agencies, said one apparel maker. “We will not take loan from the fund unless the government reduces the existing interest rate and service charges. We will be affected, if we take the loan from the fund at 9.0 per cent interest through banks,” he added. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) and BB are supposed to take 4.0 per cent and 1.0 per cent as service charges respectively, and the rest goes to the commercial banks. According to the ministry officials, MoF gets the fund from JICA at 0.01 per cent rate, and passes it on to BB at 4.0 per cent. The central bank provides the fund at 5.0 per cent to the banks that at last lend the money at 9.0 per cent to the garment owners. JICA has provided a soft loan of Tk 1.0 billion ($13 million) at 0.01 per cent interest for the fund. Besides, some Tk 3.0 billion more from the public exchequer has been deposited with the fund. The JICA money is supposed to be spent for repairing and improving RMG units in metropolitan areas of Dhaka and Chittagong. These will be done under the ongoing process of upgrading the industry amid insistence from western consumer nations and stakeholders following some fatal accidents. Earlier this month, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) demanded cut in the interest rate and services charges to 4-5 per cent, all inclusive.   A senior official of MoF, who is involved with the matter, said: “We are working on reducing the service charge, taken by the government, to 1-2 per cent from the earlier-fixed 4.0 per cent. In this connection, we sat with BGMEA and stakeholders earlier this month.” Currently, fund amounting to around $200 million is available for remediation purpose of the RMG factories. Of the amount, IFC is providing $50 million and USAID is giving a guarantee fund of $22 million. AFD (French Development Agency) will also be providing funds worth €50 million by mid-2016. All these funds are provided at 0.01 to 1.0 per cent interest rates. After the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013, the government, manufacturers, buyers, and development partners took the initiative of improving workplace safety and ensuring workers’ security in local RMG sector.

Relocation of tanneries: Tanners miss deadline again

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RMG Bangladesh
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hazaribagh tanneries

The tanners at Hazaribagh in the capital are yet to start relocating their units to Savar even after the government has turned down their plea for more time. However, they want to remain in Hazaribagh area till next Eid-ul-Azha, considering the volume of rawhide trade during the religious festival. Tanners told the FE on Saturday that if they shift their business establishments to Savar from Hazaribgah before Eid-ul-Azha, they will incur huge financial losses. The government on April 13, 2016 turned down the plea made by the tanners for giving them more time for relocating their units to Savar from Hazaribagh. The Ministry of Industries (MoI) on the day also asked the tanners’ association leaders to immediately shift their establishments to the newly-built Savar Leather Industrial Estate. “All the decisions taken earlier by the government on relocation of tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar will be implemented,” senior secretary of the MoI Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the media after meeting with tannery leaders on April 13 last. “We want the tanners to relocate their units without any delay. We would not tolerate laxity in this connection,” he said while talking with the leaders of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) and Bangladesh Finished Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLGFEA). The government at an inter-ministerial meeting on March 20, 2016 warned of taking stern action against the tanners if they try to take rawhide to Hazaribagh from April, 2016 aiming to compel them to relocate their units. Later, the deadline was extended till April 10 which also expired on Sunday last. The tanners asserted that rawhide is not entering Hazaribagh tanneries rather Posta in the city. The process of relocating the tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar has been continuing for years. Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu announced in February last that the tanneries would have to be relocated by March 31, 2016 and there will be no compromise with the deadline this time. The government had given Tk 2.5 billion (Tk 250 crore) as compensation to the tanners and 155 plots were allocated to them at Harindhara in Savar. Industrial waste is a major reason for pollution of the Buriganga, Shitalakkha, Balu and Turag. Of 60 per cent of industrial waste that is released into the four rivers, 30 per cent come from the tanneries located in Hazaribagh. There are some 195 tanneries at Hazaribagh responsible for dumping thousands of litres of untreated and highly toxic liquid waste into the Buriganga River every day, posing a serious risk to human and animal health. The buyers of the European Union (EU) are also putting pressure on relocation of tanneries to Savar. The government is also considering ‘relocation of tanneries an urgent matter’ in order to meet the buyers’ demand. The tanners claimed that building infrastructures at Savar is yet to be completed. Most of the CETP (central effluent treatment plant) work has been done. Besides, power, gas and water supplies have almost been completed, an official of MoI said. Chairman of BTA Md Shaheen Ahamed told the FE on Saturday that they would relocate their units to Savar after Eid-ul-Azha, considering the volume of rawhide trade during the festival. “We would sit with the MoI early next month and seek again time to stay at Hazaribagh until Eid-ul-Azha,” he said.    There is a huge demand for Bangladeshi leather in the global market due to its quality. Rawhide price is lower in Bangladesh compared with other neighbouring countries, according to tanners. Over 6.5 million cattle were sacrificed during the last Eid-ul-Azha, according to the Department of Livestock. Tanners buy rawhide during the Eid. Around 250 million square feet (sq ft) of rawhide is collected in the country every year, half of which is stocked up during Eid-ul-Azha. Rawhide worth about Tk 40 billion is traded on the Eid day alone, industry insiders said. Bangladesh exported leather and leather goods and footwear worth US$ 1130.51 million during the fiscal year (FY) 2014-15. From July 2015 to January 2016, the volume of export was valued at $ 663.02 million against the target of $ 707.47 million, according to BTA. Dr. Bjorn Lomborg is president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center,  ranking the smartest solutions to the world’s biggest problems by cost-benefit. He was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time Magazine.

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