Influx of shoemakers

Pou Hung Industrial (Bangladesh) Ltd works in full swing to start production at Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone next month. Photo: Sajjadur Rahman

Global shoemakers are rushing to Bangladesh to keep up business growth following extension of the European Union's antidumping duties on shoe imports from China.
At the end of 2009, the EU extended for 15 months a 16.5 percent punitive tax, which was first introduced in October 2006 on the import of Chinese shoes with leather uppers.
Pou Hung Industrial (Bangladesh) Ltd, owned by the world's largest shoe maker Pou Chen Group, is working in full swing to start production next month at its nearly Tk 500 crore factory at the Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone.
Korea-based giant Youngone Group is also setting up a massive shoe factory at Karnaphuli EPZ in Chittagong at a cost of $110 million.
Another Taiwanese shoe giant Paolo Footwear Company has been making shoes at the EPZ for months now.
“Many more Chinese and Taiwanese companies are in the pipeline to come to Bangladesh,” City Huang, president of Paolo Footwear Company, told The Daily Star.
Paolo is making renowned brands for women, such as Faith, Evans, Matrix and Caprice. Huang came here after reading a book by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus some years back.
“Part of the reason for us to come here is that there are no duties on shoes made in Bangladesh,” said Huang.
According to the Paolo president, China exported 1.3 billion pairs of shoes to the EU between 2004 and 2008.
Pou Hung Industrial (Bangladesh) Ltd hopes to go into production next month.
“The machines have already been set up at the factory. Some 1,000 employees have also been recruited,” Abul Kalam Azad, assistant manager of Karnaphuli EPZ, told The Daily Star.
The factory is being built on 16 plots spread over 32,000 square metres of land. Over 3,500 employees will be accommodated there.
Pou Chen Group produces shoes for Adidas, Reebok and Nike. The group continues to expand and diversify product categories and increase investment in the footwear-related business, according to data on the group's website.
The group has come to Bangladesh because of the imposition of antidumping duties on the import of Chinese shoes by the EU.
Mahmud Hasan, general manager of Karnaphuli EPZ, is excited to see globally renowned companies coming into Bangladesh.
“Pou Hung wanted more plots to build a big factory here, but we could not provide so,” he said.
Scarcity of land is a big problem in Bangladesh, identified Huang.
“If you can resolve the land and transportation problems, your country will fill with Chinese and Taiwanese companies,” he said.
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