MJL Bangladesh to buy tanker to transport LPG

MJL Bangladesh, one of the leading private lubricant marketers, plans to invest $32.5 million to purchase a newly-built tanker and provide rental services to private liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) companies.
The tanker, with a capacity of 11,000 cubic meters, a unit of measurement for the volume of the tanker, will transport LPG in a compressed form, according to a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.
The MJL board also approved of an additional amount of $1.50 million for shipbuilding supervision fees, consultancy fees, modification-related spending, takeover expenses, legal fees and operational expenses, and travelling expenses.
Company secretary Rokibul Kabir said MJL Bangladesh would purchase the vessel to transport imported LPG, mainly for Omera Petroleum, a subsidiary of MJL Bangladesh. The vessel will also be rented out to other LPG sellers in Bangladesh for revenue generation.
Mr Kabir said they would purchase the vessel from Japan. The tanker is expected to be delivered by 2026.
MJL Bangladesh decided to buy the tanker at a time when the demand for bottled LPG is growing steadily for household use, as the government stopped giving new gas connections.
Bangladesh needs around 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per year, and the total market size is around $ 3.2 billion in Bangladesh, according to industry people.
At present, around 30 LPG companies are operating in Bangladesh and Omera LPG accounts for nearly one-fifth share of the market.
Listed in 2011, MJL Bangladesh's stock has been stuck at Tk 86.70 each for the past three week.

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