IFC invests $22.7m in Hamza Textile

With an aim to improve global competitiveness for Bangladesh’s ready-made garments sector, the International Finance Corporation has invested $22.7 million in Hamza Textile Limited, a dyeing and finishing company of Dulal Brothers Ltd (DBL) Group.

The new investment marks IFC’s first Covid-19 support in the RMG sector and includes financing from the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window (IDA-PSW), set up to catalyse investment in low-income and fragile countries, a press release said on Tuesday.

The financing will help build a new factory with advanced and resource-efficient technologies to respond to evolving demands of consumers and create more than 900 direct new jobs.

“The new factory will allow Hamza to work with new fabrics to meet increasing buyer requirements, widen its manufacturing base and highlight the effectiveness of advanced technologies to cut production costs and deliver climate benefits,” said MA Jabbar, managing director of DBL Group.

Hamza Textile Limited provides dyeing and finishing services for fabrics that are used in making RMG by its sister companies, owned by the DBL Group, which is one of Bangladesh’s largest integrated knitted apparel manufacturers and exporters.

IFC’s investment will help expand HTL’s finishing capacity by 80 tonnes per day to reach a total capacity of 103 tonnes per day at its new factory, which will also be a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified green building.

“Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry is vital for the country’s economy and delivering on its ambitions to transform into an upper middle-income country. To remain competitive, the industry needs to evolve to higher value-added products and adopt modern technologies, which are even more critical given the impact of COVID-19,” said Hector Gomez Ang, IFC’s regional director for South Asia.

“Even prior to the pandemic, the industry was beginning to stagnate in terms of innovation and value addition. We hope this investment will serve as a demonstration model for others to move upmarket and remain competitive.”