Mittal seeks one more year to renew investment proposals
Naim-Ul-Karim | Friday, 27 June 2008
The UK-based Mittal group has sought the government's permission to renew its $2.9 billion investment proposals for a further one year period, said a senior official Thursday.
He said the UK based group sought permission of the government as its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last year with the Board of Investment (BoI) is expiring this month.
The UK-based group signed the MoU in June last year proposing to invest about $2.9 billion in coal mine development, oil exploration and production, power plant, petrochemicals, NGL/LNG production and other infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.
Md Nazrul Islam, the then executive chairman of the BoI, and Vinod K Mittal, managing director of the Global Oil and Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of Mittal Group, signed the MoU on behalf of the respective sides in the city.
Of the total investment plan, an estimated $300 million will be spent for coal mine development, $100 million for oil exploration and production, $500 million for power plant, $1.50 billion for petrochemicals, and $500 million for NGL/LNG production and other infrastructure projects.
In line with the MoU, the BoI official said the UK group was supposed to complete its feasibility studies on investment proposals, form a company here and other related works by last one year.
"The executive committee of the BoI is positively considering to renew the tenure of the MoU for a further one year," he said.
BoI officials like many potential global investors the Mittal's subsidiary is also taking time to see the developments in Bangladesh's politics in implementing its investment proposals.
Briefing the newsmen after signing the MoU, the then BoI executive chairman said the investment offer of the company is not complicated like that one of Tata.
After the Indian industrial giant Tata' $ 3 billion investment offer, this is the second largest investment offer from an UK-based, another Indian giant.
The Mittal Group is one of the largest business conglomerates in India and the United Kingdom (UK) with $ 28 billion investment in 27 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
An official said the company first intimated the BoI April 18 to invest 1.6 billion through an expression of interest (EoI) but it revised the proposal twice to $ 2.9 billion.
Lt Col (Retd) Kamal Ahmad, chief executive officer of GRH Bangladesh Ltd and also local agent of the company, said: "Though Mittal is signing the initial MoU for investment worth $2.8 billion, the company's ultimate investment will be over $5.0 billion in the country in the long run."
The GSHL, based in UAE, manages steel plants with annual production capacity of 14 million tonnes in many countries across Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific, besides India.
He said the UK based group sought permission of the government as its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last year with the Board of Investment (BoI) is expiring this month.
The UK-based group signed the MoU in June last year proposing to invest about $2.9 billion in coal mine development, oil exploration and production, power plant, petrochemicals, NGL/LNG production and other infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.
Md Nazrul Islam, the then executive chairman of the BoI, and Vinod K Mittal, managing director of the Global Oil and Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of Mittal Group, signed the MoU on behalf of the respective sides in the city.
Of the total investment plan, an estimated $300 million will be spent for coal mine development, $100 million for oil exploration and production, $500 million for power plant, $1.50 billion for petrochemicals, and $500 million for NGL/LNG production and other infrastructure projects.
In line with the MoU, the BoI official said the UK group was supposed to complete its feasibility studies on investment proposals, form a company here and other related works by last one year.
"The executive committee of the BoI is positively considering to renew the tenure of the MoU for a further one year," he said.
BoI officials like many potential global investors the Mittal's subsidiary is also taking time to see the developments in Bangladesh's politics in implementing its investment proposals.
Briefing the newsmen after signing the MoU, the then BoI executive chairman said the investment offer of the company is not complicated like that one of Tata.
After the Indian industrial giant Tata' $ 3 billion investment offer, this is the second largest investment offer from an UK-based, another Indian giant.
The Mittal Group is one of the largest business conglomerates in India and the United Kingdom (UK) with $ 28 billion investment in 27 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
An official said the company first intimated the BoI April 18 to invest 1.6 billion through an expression of interest (EoI) but it revised the proposal twice to $ 2.9 billion.
Lt Col (Retd) Kamal Ahmad, chief executive officer of GRH Bangladesh Ltd and also local agent of the company, said: "Though Mittal is signing the initial MoU for investment worth $2.8 billion, the company's ultimate investment will be over $5.0 billion in the country in the long run."
The GSHL, based in UAE, manages steel plants with annual production capacity of 14 million tonnes in many countries across Europe, Africa and the Asia Pacific, besides India.