MoU to invest $2.8b: Now Mittal Group to invest in Bangladesh
By UNB, Dhaka
Sat, 9 Jun 2007, 13:43:00
After the Indian industrial giant Tata Group, the UK-based Indian giant Mittal Group is also keen to invest in Bangladesh.
A high level delegation of the Mittal Group, led by its Managing Director VK Mittal, arrives here tomorrow (Sunday) on a two-day visit to formally place a
US$ 2.8 billion investment offer to the caretaker government.
The Mittal delegation will fly to Dhaka on a private aircraft Sunday afternoon and leave the capital on Monday afternoon. The Mittal Group is one of the largest business conglomerates in both India and United Kingdom (UK) with US$ 28 billion investment in 27 countries across four continents - Europe, Asia, Africa and America.
The Group has already expressed its keen interest to invest in different sectors in Bangladesh through its local agent GRH Bangladesh Limited, which is now arranging the visit of the industrial giant’s top executives.
The sectors included in the UK-based Indian business group’s investment plan are energy, power generation, coal-mine development, and production of ethylene dichloride, caustic soda, LPG (C3) LPG (C4) and hydrogen.
The investment in energy sector, particularly in gas exploration and power generation, would get top priority if the group is given a chance to invest in Bangladesh, Syed G Dastagir Nishad, chairman of GRH Limited, the local agent of Mittal Group, told UNB. He said the Mittal Group is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Board of Investment (BoI) seeking to materialise its investment plan and explore business in Bangladesh. During its stay in the capital, delegation chief VK Mittal, who leads the Global Oil and Energy of the Mittal Group, is expected to call on President Iajuddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed, Energy Adviser Tapan Chowdhury and some influential policymakers of the government.
The Mittal delegation will be accompanied by the group’s director for international business affairs Javed Pasha, a former minister of Pakistan.
After its merger with Europe’s top steel manufacturer Arcelor, the Mittal Group’s ArcelorMittal became the world’s number one steel producer with 320,000 employees in more than 60 countries. ArcelorMittal has led the consolidation of the world steel industry and today ranks as the only truly global steel maker with plants in 27 countries.
ArcelorMittal is also a leader in all major global markets in varied fields, including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging.
Its industrial presence in Europe, Asia, Africa and America gives the Group exposure to all the key steel markets, from emerging to mature. ArcelorMittal key pro forma financials for 2006 show combined revenues of USUS$ 88.6 billion. Its production was equivalent to around 10 percent of world steel output.
It is currently listed under the legal entity Mittal Steel NV on the stock exchanges of New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Luxembourg and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia.
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