United News of Bangladesh

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday asked the authorities to resolve the land rights issue of the Korean Export Processing Zone by early next month and bring all the investment promotion agencies under one umbrella to attract more foreign investment to the country. The Chief Adviser gave the instruction when Kihak Sung, the chairman of the Youngone Corporation, and several other top foreign investors met him at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka. Kihak Sung, whose South Korean company is the largest exporter from Bangladesh, raised several issues that he believed were discouraging FDI in Bangladesh and urged the Chief Adviser to improve the conditions for large-scale investment in the country. The Chief Adviser told Sung that the land issue of the Korean EPZ, which acted as a key deterrent to FDI in the industrial park, would be solved by February 6. "We want the Korean EPZ to be the model for everyone in Bangladesh. We hope it will attract big investments and create a lot of jobs," the Chief Adviser said. Govt demands clarification from UN on Rohingya exodus report Kihak Sung appreciated the Interim Government's fast-tracked move to resolve the long-standing issues involving the KEPZ. He said more Korean investors would now be keen to invest in Bangladesh. "It will open the doors for other investors. The KEPZ surely will be a model for the investors," he said. The Youngone Corporation chairman also urged the government for expedited shipments through the Chittagong Port, saying slow turnaround time in the country's largest port was largely to blame for the lack of high-end and fashion clothing orders from top global brands. Fashion clothing needs very quick exports, possibly in 10-15 days, he said, adding that Bangladesh does not have high-end fashion orders because sometimes it takes months to ship the orders. He cited the example of Vietnam, as to how the Southeast Asian nation, where he invested hugely in recent years, took moves to expedite exports. Prof Yunus said he has asked the authorities to make port operations efficient. He said Special Envoy Lutfey Siddiqi is working on a series of plans to make Chittagong a top port in the region. Kihak Sung and British investor Mohammed A Matin spoke for the need to bring all the investment promotion agencies under one umbrella, saying it will offer efficient one-stop services to foreign investors. The Chief Adviser said he has asked the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority chief, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, to bring all five investment agencies under one office. Ashik said the five different agencies for investment promotion were a legacy of the inept and corrupt governments in recent decades. He said the BIDA has undertaken a move to bring the agencies under one umbrella. Bangladesh seeks balanced trade with Malaysia: Commerce Adviser Sung said Youngone was building one of the world's largest textile institutes in the country, which will train thousands of young Bangladeshis every year. He invited Professor Yunus to join the opening ceremony to be held within three months. Matin has called for streamlining labour laws and introducing a net metering system for solar panels set up in the export processing zones. He also said due to discriminatory policy, investors in EPZ pay at least 26 percent taxes on the import of solar panels. The Chief Adviser said the Interim Government has moved to carry out vital labour reforms and said his special envoy, Lutfey Siddiqi, was working on the issue. He also said the government would likely introduce green channels in the Chittagong Port to fast-track exports from the country. "We need clarity. We need it simple," Kihak Sung said, referring to the labour laws. Javier Carlos Santonja Olcina, the country head of clothing giant Inditex, praised the efforts of the Interim Government to conduct vital business reforms and ease the conditions for doing business in Bangladesh. "I am really impressed. This is the new Bangladesh we need," he said, adding he hoped the country's exports would increase substantially this year. Paul Anthony Warren, Director of Dewhirst, which operates several garment factories in Bangladesh, also attended the meeting.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh, Lee Jang-keun, has said Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in Chattogram is showing continuous progress in developing the area through a series of efforts. KEPZ is developing the area by adding more factories, establishing ICT zones, opening design and development centers, inaugurating the country’s largest rooftop solar panel electricity generation, and inviting foreign companies, he said. The South Korean envoy, together with German Ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Troester, visited KEPZ on January 7 and looked around the factories and other facilities at the compound, including the newly opened unit of German company STRAUSS. Also Read: KEPZ Hi-Tech park will attract huge FDI, hopes Palak A renowned German outdoor and sportswear company, Strauss, officially opened its design and development center, Struass CI Factory Chattogram, at KEPZ on October 24 last year. Around 200 people are currently employed in Chattogram -- from product development to sales and marketing.  KEPZ has successfully installed and is operating the country’s largest single rooftop solar power plant with a capacity of 22MW, which not only suffices the electricity needs of the zone but is also incorporated with Bangladesh’s national electricity grid, said the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka on Sunday. Also Read: Workers clash with cops at KEPZ; 6 hurt Ambassador Lee, together with State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, inaugurated KEPZ’s rooftop solar panel plant on June 20, 2021. Ambassador Lee also said that KEPZ’s ICT zone is well underway as planned. Construction of the ICT zone started from April last year through a groundbreaking ceremony with the presence of ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and it is at the last stage of completing two factory buildings. According to the KEPZ, currently 43 operating factories are employing over 22,000 workers. Eight other factories are under construction. Read More: KEPZ textile zone can transform Bangladesh’s textile business: Youngone Chairman KEPZ is the sole private-owned EPZ in the country, operated by the Korean Youngone Corporation which is the first and the largest foreign investor in the RMG sector in Bangladesh.

A fire broke out in the warehouse of a garment factory in Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone  (KEPZ) of Chattogram port city on Saturday morning, officials said. Fortunately, no casualties were reported. The fire broke out in the abandoned warehouse of Cansas-2, a garment manufacturer, around 10.30am and spread soon, said Sagar Ahmed, station officer of KEPZ Fire Service. Read: Russia attacks Kyiv area for the first time in weeks Two fire tenders were pressed into service and it took nearly an hour to extinguish the blaze, around 11.25 am. “A probe has been ordered to ascertain the exact cause of the fire,” he said.  

The Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) Hi-Tech park will play a significant role in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Bangladesh, said State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Wednesday. "Korea is a pioneer country to invest in Bangladesh and has extended and enhanced its cooperation beyond textile to ICT, energy, blue economy, climate change and infrastructure development for over 45 years," he said. Palak made the remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony of the KEPZ Hi-Tech Park mentioning that the collaboration between Bangladesh and South Korea goes a long way. The Hi-Tech Park was jointly inaugurated by State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun with the physical presence of Kihak Sung, Chairman & CEO of Youngone Corp & KEPZ. It was a remarkable day for KEPZ in the field of Hi-Tech industrial development, said the Youngone Corp adding that the vision of the company to establish a state-of-the-art Hi-Tech park is coming to a reality. Also read: S Korea sees brighter ties with Bangladesh with multifarious success stories: Envoy

Textile zone at the Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in Chattogram will become a “textile hub” in Bangladesh bringing a lot of businesses if the required support is provided to "quickly and fully '' implement it, says the Youngone chief.   He said the five mega factories, if completed, will have a combined floor space of over 2,000,000 sft.   “Bangladesh needs to make a lot of efforts to produce and supply more manmade fibre (MMF) so that such a supply chain is established successfully here,” said South Korea-based global conglomerate Youngone Corporation Chairman and CEO Kihak Sung.  Also read: S Korea provides US$ 1 mn to IOM to support Rohingyas ... He said such efforts will help Bangladesh get a lot of businesses, not losing everything to Vietnam. “That’s my challenge now.” During an interaction at the KEPZ recently, Sung said they have a budget to invest another US$ 400 million of their investment. “As long as we’re competitive and customers can take our goods and they make a profit, then we can increase it (investment volume)." Youngone already started manufacturing polyester fabrics at the two latest state-of-the-art polyester product factories with a floor space of over 430,000 for each which will be expanded to two more similar units for export and supply of high-quality products to garments and apparel factories in Bangladesh as an import substitute and backward linkage. Read Textile backbone of Bangladesh’s industrial efforts: FM “We want to be really supportive of Bangladesh garment factories. We need to make raw materials, garments and everything here,” Sung said, adding that quality energy supply still remains the main challenge. He said they are applying for the generation of captive power in the KEPZ to meet "essential demand of quality" power supply for the sophisticated textile industries.