LG to set up home appliance production unit in Bangladesh

FE Report Korean LG Electronics has expressed its interest to invest $500 million for establishing a new factory in Bangladesh to manufacture LCD television, refrigerator, air-conditioner and other home appliances. A delegation of LG Electronics, headed by its vice president of Home Appliance Business Strategy Junhwan Kim, made the proposal when they met Industries Minister Dilip Barua at his office at Motijheel Thursday. The company is interested to establish the factory at Valuka in Mymensingh that will create employment for about 5,000 people, the minister said. Bangladesh is a unique place for investment in South-East Asia, the minister told the team, adding that the government is setting up specialised industrial zones (SEZs) for attracting foreign investment in the country. The investors can send profit from Bangladesh to their own countries or reinvest here, he told them while explaining the government-offered packages that include investment security, tax holiday, and easy work permit etc. LG officials said investment in Bangladesh is comparatively more profitable because of its large internal market, availability of skilled and cheap labour, and low production cost. Foreign investment would increase significantly in Bangladesh after ensuring uninterrupted electricity and gas supply as well as necessary infrastructure and land for setting up factories, they added. The LG delegation requested the minister to allocate 100 acres of land in one of the proposed SEZs, so that the company can establish a large-scale manufacturing unit in future. Butterfly Marketing Ltd director Mostafizur Rahman and LG Electronics manager Nathan Park, business manager of Singapore office Allan Kim and managing director of Dhaka office Jhung, among others, were present in the meeting.