The apex garment manufacturers body in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), is for special export incentives for foreign and domestic joint venture entities that are located in the country’s Export Processing Zones or EPZs.
According to media reports, BGMEA President Dr. Rubana Huq has reportedly written a letter in this direction to Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi seeking 1 per cent special incentives for 100 per cent foreign as well as joint venture (between domestic and foreign entities) companies.
The traders’ body has reportedly underlined that owing to the fallouts of the coronavirus pandemic, type A and B companies which export garments to the USA and Canada, including the EU, and located at EPZs and Economic Zones (EZs) need 1 per cent special cash assistance.
It may be mentioned here that there are three types of factories housed in the EPZs – type A, type B and type C. Type A are those that are 100 per cent foreign-owned, as well as owned by non-resident Bangladeshis, type B factories are those set up under a joint venture between overseas and Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and type C consists of 100 per cent Bangladeshi-owned enterprises.
According to reports, type C factories are getting 1 per cent cash incentive for exports to the EU, USA and Canada from the fiscal year 2019-20, which is in addition to the benefits.
Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh Bank in an effort to augment to the financial capacity of domestic as well as foreign-owned companies maintained earlier that Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA), Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and foreign-owned enterprises of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park will be able to avail loans from the Government-announced incentive package as well.
