Beximco will invest $20 million in Detroit

Beximco Group announced it will set up a plant in Detroit in the U.S. The company will produce masks and protective gear in the plant. The company earlier started selling the generic version of Gilead Sciences Inc.'s antiviral drug. Beximco's textile unit is tapping new opportunities as luxury brands from New York to Paris scrap garment orders amid the pandemic. The company expects the Detroit plant to be ready in nine months, while the one in Bangladesh will start production in four months.

Beximco will invest $20 million in the Detroit plant, said Syed Naved Husain, chief executive officer of the group's textile business. The company will also invest $30 million on a plant at home, he said. The company will initially supply N95 masks in Detroit before expanding to other parts of the U.S., Husain said.

Detroit had been recruiting a Bangladeshi company to manufacture jeans in the city, Duggan said, but when the COVID-19 outbreak took hold, the company brought in partners and pivoted to making personal protective equipment. "This comes from a process we've been at for more than a year," Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said  when asked about the plan during a coronavirus response briefing.
The mayor said the city is looking for a site for the factory.

"Nobody picks Detroit at random. This is a result of (Detroit Economic Growth Corp. CEO) Kevin Johnson and the DEGC team and our economic development team," Duggan said. "I think it's time we start to make clothes back in the United States, and we've been working on that for the last year or two. And I didn't expect PPE would be the first plant to come"

Beximco said Hanesbrands Inc. bought 6.5 million personal protective equipment items from the company to supply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Original article:Bangladesh company says it will build mask factory in Detroit

Beximco exports 6.5 million personal protective equipment to US brand Hanes

Bangladesh joined the selected group of countries that manufacture world-class personal protection equipment in a large scale. Beximco Group is now an exporter of the PPE. It exported 6.5 million personal protective equipment to US brand Hanes.

“Beximco has proudly joined the fight against the global pandemic by moving swiftly to add manufacturing capabilities in PPE items such as gowns, masks and coveralls,” said Beximco Group Director Syed Naved Husain. He said COVID-19 had changed how the world works, and that Beximco had to urgently respond.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Md Shahriar Alam, and US Ambassador Earl Miller were present at Shahjalal International Airport to send off Beximco’s first shipment of PPE to the US.  Shahriar lauded the role of Beximco’s contribution to Bangladesh’s economy.He said like the rest of the world Bangladesh is also facing toughest times and trying to cope with this pandemic. “And in these trying times, it’s remarkable to see that within this short span of two months Bangladesh was able to foray into this very regulated market with such a sensitive healthcare product with just not ten or twenty thousand pieces but six and a half million pieces. What an achievement!” he said.

“The US welcomes Bangladesh’s world-class and large-scale PPE production to the global marketplace. The Beximco-Hanes partnership is another great example of how our two great nations are combating the COVID-19 pandemic,” the U.S. ambassador said.

Nazmul Hassan MP, managing director of Beximco Pharma, termed the event historic. He said in the initial days of pandemic, there was huge local demand for PPE and Beximco took the initiative of providing PPEs to local healthcare services through import. “But there was severe shortage globally as demand was increasing. We, therefore, decided to produce them to meet the demand. Today we are not only providing PPE to our local healthcare services but also exporting them to very highly regulated sensitive markets,” he said.



Information gathered from

Beximco exports 6.5 million PPE gowns to US
https://bdnews24.com/business/2020/05/26/beximco-exports-6.5-million-ppe-gowns-to-us

Beximco ships 6.5 million PPE gowns to US
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/beximco-ships-65-million-ppe-gowns-us-1905616

Business opportunities in the hospitality sector

Salman F Rahman urged entrepreneurs to invest in the hospitality sector of the region. The Asia-Pacific region now in the world’s largest and fastest developing economy. The prime minister’s private industry and investment adviser and a parliamentary member, Salman F Rahman, requested entrepreneurs to take business opportunities.

The Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry held a discussion in Dhaka where Salman F Rahman gave a speech. The conference had over 300 business delegates including representatives of leading national commerce chambers, business leaders and policymakers from 27 Asia Pacific countries.

In his speech, Salman F Rahman said Bangladesh has a lot of manpower and training in hospitality management can enable them to serve both inside the country and outside. As a panel discussant, Salman F Rahman said - I will urge the Cacci businessmen to take full investment potential of Bangladesh. The FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim also gave speech on the discussion organized by the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Brian O’Gallagher, deputy chief executive officer of Australia’s Chamber of Commerce Northern Territory, Cacci President Samir Modi  also spoke. They said that they were interested in training Bangladesh’s manpower in hospitality management and already some of his country’s companies were engaged with young people. Giving the inaugural speech, FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim said Bangladesh’s economy was stable and its macro-economic growth was in an upward trajectory.

Cacci President Samir Modi in his speech said the Asia-Pacific region was now the world’s largest and fastest developing economy spearheading growth in trade, investment, new technologies, innovation and reforms. He also mentioned that the recent Asia Pacific economic trends gave hopes of becoming the global economy’s future engine.


Information:

https://thetourisminternational.com/2019/12/03/invest-in-hospitality-management/

https://bangladesh-corporate-world.blogspot.com/2020/01/bangladesh-has-huge-potential-on.html

Changes required in the RMG industry

The RMG industry in Bangladesh needs to change. It does not innovate enough. It is too commodity focused. It needs to invest in sustainable production. All these things have been said for a great many years.

There is a more fundamental issue at play here: one of mindset. As humans we are creatures of habit and we are naturally resistant to change. Indeed, whole books have been written on the subject of change management, with a great many reasons offered as to why people within businesses and organisations—including business leaders—resist change.

I believe this is where the problem lies with the RMG sector in Bangladesh.

Few people would disagree that we need to change as an industry to remain relevant in global markets. But, as Barack Obama’s quote above highlights, we are often guilty of waiting for another person instead of making changes happen ourselves. It’s so much easier to let somebody else take the first steps, and this same argument goes for both RMG factories and their customers, brands and retailers.

Let me start with manufacturers. Are the prices paid by brands too low? Yes, they often are. Is Bangladesh unfairly treated by the international media and is there a lot of inaccurate reporting which paints a negative picture of the RMG industry? There is certainly truth in this. Is a lot of onus being placed on us as suppliers to invest in sustainable solutions which brands get the credit for? Again, there is truth in this.

What we all need to understand is that none of the above issues will change at a fundamental level so the only thing we can do is get on with things and, as Barack Obama says, become the change that we seek.

That means going out and making the investments we need to become competitive. Invest in technology. Invest in R&D. Invest in sustainability. Invest in people.

Moreover, the mindsets of both the employers of our RMG sector and of the employees need to be changed. The apparel industry is not a new industry in our country. But still the level of professionalism among many of the employees in the sector are not up to the expectation. The employers, on the other hand, in the past used to employ underprepared people for this industry who learned through their experience. But now we have a workforce who has education on this industry related subjects. Their talents need to be nurtured and they should be given the opportunities to unleash their potential. As man is certainly more important than machine, the employers should have the mindset to invest in people.

And very importantly, invest in story-telling—stories about success, stories about change-making, stories about struggle and spirit, stories about progress, stories about innovation and ingenuity.

Adversarial supplier-customer relationships need to become a thing of the past. The challenges we face are too large and complex to tackle as individual businesses and, in many cases, they require closer working relationships across the supply chain.

With open minds and a willingness to forge new alliances with customers—and in some cases competitors—there is no reason why we would not be able to successfully tackle all of these challenges if we work together.
Report of Daily Star.

Salman F Rahman asked CACCI member countries to invest in Bangladesh

Salman F Rahman, country´s prominent businessman and a parliament member, requested Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) member countries to invest in Bangladesh’s hospitality sector.

He was speaking at a program organized by the institution. The program was held at the Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka.

The prominent businessman and advisor to the PM, Salman F Rahman said in his speech that Bangladesh has potential in hospitality management as the economy has been growing alongside tourism and hospitality services.

The discussion was a part of the two-day 33rd CACCI conference organised in association with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). The conference has over 300 business delegates including representatives of leading national commerce chambers, business leaders and policymakers from 27 Asia Pacific countries. It also has eminent speakers ranging from leading economists and business practitioners to regional policymakers to assess key challenges and issues.

“I will urge the CACCI businessmen to take full investment potential of Bangladesh,” Rahman said as a panel discussant. Bangladesh has a lot of manpower and training in hospitality management can enable them to serve both inside the country and outside, Salman said.

Giving the inaugural speech, FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim said Bangladesh’s economy was stable and its macro-economic growth was in an upward trajectory. Brian O’Gallagher, deputy chief executive officer of Australia’s Chamber of Commerce Northern Territory, said they were interested in training Bangladesh’s manpower in hospitality management and already some of his country’s companies were engaged with young people.

Main report: Invest in hospitality management

Skilled manpower needed to take the country forward: Salman F Rahman

Prime Minister’ Private Industry and Investment Advisor Salman F Rahman has emphasised the need for creating skilled manpower to take the country forward economically.

Salman F Rahman was addressing a workshop on ‘Formulating National Action for Skill Development’, organised by the National Skills Development Authority when he said: “Foreign workers are taking away four to five billion US dollars’ worth every year through their employment in Bangladesh. This is never desirable for us,” he said, adding that “they can take the money because their efficiency is higher than us in some sectors. We have to increase our efficiency in all of these”.

Salman F Rahman pointed out: “We have long been one of the top producers in the garments industry but the irony is that we still need manpower here from outside. In this case, we haven’t been able to increase the efficiency of our own people.” “Our Prime Minister has set some targets for the country’s economic development. If the targets are fulfilled, we can move to a better position by 2041. But to fulfil these targets, we have to increase our skills.” He reiterated that such progress would not be possible without proper skills development.

Salman F Rahman, also a Member of Parliament, said the Prime Minister has set some issues to enhance efficiency. She has taken the initiative to establish the NSDA. She has also put some sectors, which are more important for the country, under her jurisdiction. “Since this is an important issue, she is looking into the matter herself,” he added. Salman F Rahman cited Japan as an example, saying that some Japanese organisations are working here in Bangladesh, which are taking the people of our country to their country by increasing development in skills.

He said: “In recent times, Japan is said to have taken four lakh workers from nine countries, but Bangladesh was not included there. The Prime Minister then requested Japan to name Bangladesh, in view of which we had an MOU with them. Basically, these four lakh people will go to Japan for construction purposes. But they need to develop their skills in order to serve the purpose of the Japanese,” he added. “The biggest thing is that I will send people to a foreign country by increasing their skills. But if I don’t do it for my own country, it will affect the domestic market,” he noted.

He emphasised the fact that Bangladesh has become digital now, mentioning that many years ago, when the Prime Minister said this, many people had made fun of it. “You may not be aware that 85 per cent of the unions in the country have access to broadband internet through fibre optics. That means there are about 6,000 unions with internet connectivity. The remaining 15 per cent is to be completed within the next year.”

He mentioned that in neighbouring India, people have to pay INR 1,200 for 1 Mbps-speed internet, which Bangladesh has given for only Tk. 500. He talked about bringing the freelancers, who are currently working as programmers for other countries, under a registration list with the information and communication technology (ICT) ministry. He said there are about 10 lakh freelancers in the country and if they can be put on a list, the country’s economy will be further enhanced through them.

Payra Thermal Power Plant

A 1,320-megawatt (MW) coal-based Payra Thermal Power Plant set up on 12 acres of land in Kalapara upazila in Patua-khali  is likely to start production from next December. If everything goes according to the plan, 660 MW of electricity from the power plant will be added to the national grid from December this year. Chinese and Bangladeshi workers are working round the clock to make the power plant fully operational by June 2020.

Sources said that the thermal power plant is a joint venture of the North-West Power Generation Company Bangla-desh Limited (NWPGCL) and China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC). Although the project was expected to be completed within 2019, the work got delayed due to various unforeseen events, including workers' dissatisfaction. About 2,600 Chinese and 5,500 Bangali workers are currently working in this power plant. Indonesia's MV Jingheiton, a coal-laden vessel, has unloaded coal at the Payra thermal power station’s jetty as the first step to produce electricity.

Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) sources said that the construction of a 400 KV line through a Korean company and a 230 KV line through a Chinese company to bring power from the coal-based Paira power plant is progressing at a rapid pace. The electricity generated from this plant will be added to the substation of Gopalganj. From there, it will be supplied to the national grid.

On 19 March 2015, a deal was signed between NWPGCL and the CMC to set up the Payra Power Plant. The joint venture was named Bangladesh-China Power Company Limited (BCPCL).  On 29 March 2016, BCPCL signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with consortium of NEPC and CECC for the installation of the power plant.The utility electricity sector in Bangladesh has one national grid with an installed capacity of 21,419 MW as of September 2019. The total installed capacity is 20,000 MW (combining solar power).

In June, a Chinese electrician was killed and seven other employees of 1320 MW Payra Power Plant were injured in a clash between Bangladeshi and Chinese employees amid rumours that a Bangladeshi worker was killed by Chinese employees.