Search Results for: Bangladesh

DESPITE the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last May, Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups remain a global money laundering and terrorist financing concern. Yet a decade on from the September 11 attacks, counterterrorism specialists say there has been too much focus on Al Qaeda itself (it means The Base in Arabic) but not enough on associated and other militant groups that pose significant threats.…

BY WANG FANGQING, IN SHANGHAI

CHINESE clothing and textile manufacturers in key provinces are raising wages amidst heightened fears of labour shortages.

"We are about to lose 50 per cent of our workers after the (Chinese New Year) holiday, and hiring new workers will be difficult," Sea An, spokesperson for Shenzhen-based A.M.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

WHILE the thought of bundling up in big knit sweater to brave the cold is how knitwear is usually marketed around the world, over in Canada – where winters are trite with snowstorms, and temperatures drop well below zero degrees Celsius – wearing a wool jumper in a blizzard to clean 10 centimetres of snow and ice off your car is not exactly practical.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WINNERS

TUNISIA

Of all the countries disrupted by the Arab Spring revolts in 2011, Tunisia liberated itself in the swiftest and most business-friendly fashion. This key European supplier rid itself of despotic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January14, and one week later, its textile and clothing sector was back at work.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

The Bangladesh government is currently withholding permission for a United States-sponsored survey to check if child and forced labour is employed in the country’s apparel sector, even though the local garment industry has no objection. "The government should grant the permission", Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association told just-style: "Anyone can visit and check that there is no child labour in our industry".…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

BANGLADESH will not oppose the European Union’s (EU) plans to grant Pakistan GSP+ status, just-style has been told. However, the country’s powerful clothing exporters have called on their government to press for the EU to withhold these privileges for products that are important to Bangladesh’s manufacturing industry, including some clothing lines.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

WHILE India’s soaps and cosmetics manufacturers are currently reaping the benefits of a rapidly expanding domestic market, they are at the same time bracing themselves for the challenges of dealing with increased competition and a more complex segmented marketplace.…

BY MARK GODFREY

THOUGH it remains the world’s key manufacturing powerhouse, gobbling up raw materials, China’s demand for imported metals scrap is currently slack. There are several reasons for the conundrum say local and international scrap players, among them exchange rate volatility and weak Chinese prices for scrap.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

THE RECENT decision by India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to provide duty-free access to the Indian market for 46 different garment products from neighbouring Bangladesh, has been met with angry responses from the Indian garment industry.

"The prime minister has made a major mistake," said Kandasamy Selvaraju, secretary general at the Southern India Mills’ Association, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu: "It is a disaster – our industry will now be ruined".…

BY MARK GODFREY

COTTON prices have eased in 2011, lifting the price pressure on major brands, according to VF Asia Pacific president Aidan O’Meara. The Hong Kong-based executive, who oversees 30 brands in the region, says it was the first time in 19 years at VF that he had seen inflation of production costs.…