|
News | Web Resources | Yellow Pages | Free Advertising | Chat
Bangladesh |
Immigration |
E-cards |
Horoscope |
Matrimonial |
|
Change Your Life! |
Exide will batter domestic battery manufacturers |
|
News
|
|
|
December 20, 2000
Dhaka, Dec 18 (UNB) – A move is on to bring in Exide India Limited to manufacture automotive battery here and throw the domestic ones out of the market. Association of local manufacturers said all kinds of incentives assured to foreign investors under the existing investment policy would not be available to the similar domestic units. Calcutta based Exide India has proposed to set up a battery manufacturing unit in Bangladesh at a cost of Rs12 shortly. When goes into production enjoying all the tariff and non-tariff incentives, its production cost will be cheaper. The domestic units, including Rahim Afroz, that will not get similar incentives, will loose the competitiveness and extinct in due course. This was categorically told to the Commerce Secretary by leaders of Accumulator & Battery Manufacturers Association (BABMA) meeting him in his office on Monday. Expressing concern at the move of Exide India they said the local battery industry will face serious set back when the Indian giant launches its production. “If the factory is set up here, it will sell batteries in the local market at a subsidised price and export at low rate to annihilate the local units,” they said in a written appeal. They said Exide India will relocate its old plant the book value of which has come down to almost zero. But it will show an investment of Rs12 crore so that they can repatriate the capital in foreign currency. “The Company’s main intention is to create monopoly in the region - India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand and China,” they said. Bangladesh exports some 50,000 pieces of automotive batteries to India annually. Her annual consumption is 70 lakh pieces. India has installed production capacity of 8 lakh pieces BABMA leaders also apprehended that the Indian Company would try to tarnish the image of the locally produced international standard batteries in the market of neighbouring countries through writing “Made in Bangladesh” on the low quality batteries to be produced in the Bangladesh unit of the Indian Company. BABMA also urged the Board of Investment (BOI) on Thursday not to approve any 100 per cent or joint venture investment proposal of the Indian Company. It requested the BOI for a detailed inquiry into the application of the Exide India Ltd before approval. BABMA also urged to convene a joint meeting of the ministries of finance, industries and commerce, Tariff Commission, National Board of Revenue and BABMA to review the investment proposal of the Indian Company. Local battery manufacturers do not enjoy the incentives offered to foreign investors, putting them into an uneven competition for a common market. |