BGMEA to hold overseas roadshows to attract new garment buyers

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will launch a series of roadshows in major trading hubs, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai, to attract global apparel buyers that currently do little or no business with Bangladesh.

The initiative will begin with a roadshow in Hong Kong, while HSBC will support the programme by helping identify and engage potential buyers and encouraging them to participate in the events. The announcement was made at a programme held at the BGMEA headquarters in Dhaka yesterday (12 July).

To formalise the collaboration, BGMEA and HSBC signed a MoU. The agreement was signed by Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, president of BGMEA, and Md Mahbub ur Rahman, CEO of HSBC Bangladesh, on behalf of their respective organisations.

Speaking at the event, Shah Rayeed Chowdhury, a BGMEA director, said the initiative would begin in Hong Kong before expanding to other global trading centres. "We will start with Hong Kong, but later we will also go to places such as Singapore and Dubai," he said.

After the event, he told TBS that BGMEA's current focus was largely on major existing buyers, but the organisation now wanted to showcase Bangladesh's capabilities to brands that either do not source from the country or have only a limited presence.

"We want to let those buyers know how Bangladesh's capabilities have evolved. Our main objective is to strengthen Bangladesh's brand image," he said.

Explaining why Hong Kong had been chosen as the first destination, Chowdhury said it was an important global trading hub where many international brands have a presence.

"We will target those brands there. Singapore and Dubai are also global trading hubs, so we will organise similar programmes there in the future and engage with buyers. There will also be matchmaking sessions," he said.

He added that the events would be jointly organised by BGMEA and HSBC.

Explaining HSBC's role, Chowdhury said many global brands already work with the bank because of its international reputation.

"Global brands work with trusted and reliable institutions like HSBC. Partnering with them will also strengthen our credibility," he said.

Speaking at the event, HSBC CEO Mahbub said understanding buyers' changing priorities would be key to the initiative.

"We need to research what customers want and where they are heading. We want to identify three to five priorities over the next five years. We will set our priorities based on customers' needs," he said.

BGMEA President Babu called on HSBC to help attract brands that have yet to source products from Bangladesh. He said one international brand that previously did not purchase from Bangladesh had now decided to start sourcing from the country.

He also said BGMEA planned to expand business with Japan and would establish a dedicated help desk at the association to support that effort.

Agreeing with the HSBC chief executive, Babu said Bangladesh had many world-class garment factories, but negative images often affected buyers' perceptions.

"There are many excellent factories in Bangladesh. But when images of the polluted waters of the Turag River are shown abroad, many premium brands become reluctant to place orders in Bangladesh," he said.