US-based VF Corporation and IFC have provided loans worth $1.3 million to three Bangladeshi garment factories under a new programme for funding fire and building safety improvements. Through the financing arrangement, VF Corporation, a global leader for branded apparel, footwear and accessories, provides a full corporate guarantee for up to $10 million that the IFC and its partner Brac Bank lend to VF's contract suppliers. VF's guarantee to back the loans makes it possible for IFC, a membe

Seizing new chance on the world market, China's export of sewing machinery hit new record. Figures of the General Administration of the Customs show that the export in the first eight months of this year topped more than US$ 1.56 billion, up 9.26% year-on-year, maintained a steady year-on-year growing trend. In the first quarter of this year, China's export of sewing machinery fluctuated due to the holidays of Spring Festival. Since March, the increasing demand on the world market had been d

Infrastructure development is the main challenge for the country’s readymade garment exporters for reaching $50 billion export on the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh in 2021, experts said at a seminar on Sunday. In the first session of the three-day Dhaka Apparel Summit which began on Sunday in Dhaka with the slogan ‘Bangladesh RMG 2021- reaching $50 billion on the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh – a collaborative and coordinated approach’, they focused on developing a strategic action plan to

Home textiles major Welspun India Limited (WIL), part of the Welspun Group has unveiled its new spinning facility of 170,000 spindles at Anjar, Gujarat - the largest under one roof in India. The new facility at Welspun City, a 2,500 acre township in Anjar was inaugurated by Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel on Saturday, along with Santosh Kumar Gangwar, minister of state for textiles (independent charge), Government of India, and Saurabh Patel, minister of finance, Government of Gujarat.Th

Government has launched four schemes, including a technology mission, for promotion and growth of technical textiles, Lok Sabha was informed. Technical textiles are materials manufactured primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than aesthetic and decorative purpose.Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar said during Question Hour that three other projects are schemes for strengthening of database and standards for technical textiles, scheme for usage of agritextil

No extraordinary trading activity was seen on the cotton market on Friday as mills did routine buying to meet their needs, dealers said. The official spot rate halted further losses, showing no change at Rs 4,650, they said. The seed cotton prices in Sindh were unchanged at Rs 1500 and Rs 2400, in Punjab prices were also inert at Rs 2000 and Rs 2500, they said. Nearly 20,000 bales of cotton changed hands between Rs 6450 and Rs 4975, they added. Cotton analyst, Naseem Usman said that the ginn

Bangladesh will need between $74 billion and $100 billion in the next decade to improve infrastructure which, coupled with political stability, is key to attaining $50 billion in annual apparel exports in seven years from now. Experts, policymakers and entrepreneurs shared a common view yesterday at a discussion on “Infrastructure -- the Road to Chittagong & Beyond” at Dhaka Apparel Summit. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association organised the three-day summit at Ban

Garment entrepreneurs yesterday demanded a reduction in lending rates along with other measures to help manufacturers grab a larger slice of the global apparel market. “If interest rates are not reduced, many factories would fold,” Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said. Islam's comment came at a panel discussion during the Dhaka Apparel Summit, organised by the BGMEA at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka. He

Textiles have been a small part of the Kenyan economy, but the sector has the potential for growth, according to Adan Mohamed, industrialization minister. The government is trying to entice textile manufacturers with a hefty new subsidy, this year slashing the cost of power from Ks18 ($0.20) a kilowatt hour to Ks9. Mohamed believes the sector can create 300,000 jobs if the country can only give it the fillip it needs to grab a larger slice of the global clothing market , estimated by the Int

The small and Medium Enterprises (SME) textile sector is the majority sector and plays an important part in the economy of Pakistan. Hence the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has urged the federal minister for textiles and industries Abbas Khan Afridi to sharpen the forthcoming textile policy to facilitate the SME sector and address the issues of the majority sector conscientiously. He said that the ministry should consult the SMEs in the making of the textile policy as a non-