HighSpeed Group in Joint Venture with Mitsui OSK Lines for Shipping Business in Bangladesh

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--HighSpeed Group (Dhaka, Bangladesh), a leading business conglomerate of Bangladesh, entered into an agreement with Mitsui OSK Lines Limited (TYO:9104) (MOL) (Tokyo, Japan) to set up a joint venture in the shipping sector, the first between the two countries. The venture will enable MOL to participate directly in the Bangladesh shipping industry from early 2009.

Bird Bangladesh Agencies Limited (Dhaka), HighSpeed's sister company, will own a 70% stake in the joint venture, and MOL will own the balance. MOL plans to launch new vessels on feeder lines including Chittagong-Colombo, Chittagong-Port Kelang and Chittagong-Singapore. The HighSpeed Group has also entered into a memorandum of understanding with a European firm for construction and delivery of shipping vessels of various capacities.

To date, HighSpeed has constructed over 100 specialized ships, including coastal patrol boats, dry cargo vessels, fishing trawlers, oil tankers, and passenger ferries. The group owns and operates a fleet of 25 oil tankers that carry 1 million tons per year of petroleum, oil and lubricant products for state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (Dhaka). The firm has the capability of constructing vessels with a deadweight tonnage capacity of up to 7,500 metric tons.

In 1979, HighSpeed and Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Company Limited (TYO:7003) (Tokyo, Japan) promoted the largest joint venture between the two countries in the shipbuilding and heavy engineering sector. The joint venture developed several infrastructure projects such as petrochemical plants, hydropower stations, and specialized ships, including barge-mounted power-generating units. The engineering division of HighSpeed, in collaboration with partners from Europe and Japan, has undertaken and executed several plant-engineering projects in Bangladesh. These include development of pipelines, pressure vessels and storage tanks, civil construction and steel structural works, and the installation of heavy machinery and equipment for projects including Chittagong Eastern Oil Refinery, Jamuna Fertilizer, Kaptai Hydro Power, Parbatipur Railway Workshop Works and Zia Fertilizer.

Bangladesh's economy is reported to have registered a growth of 6.05% during 2007-08, against a projected growth rate of 7% forecast in June 2007. The gross domestic product (GDP) for 2007-08 was estimated at $47.25 billion after accounting for inflation and at $79.58 billion without accounting for inflation. In 2006-07, Bangladesh had a GDP of $44.59 billion before inflation and $68.75 billion after inflation. In 2007-08, agriculture contributed to 20.71% of the GDP, while the industrial sector accounted for 29.74%, and the services sector contributed 49.58% of the GDP. The country has a population of about 140 million, with a population density of about 900 people per square kilometer.

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