S Korean giant Kia to launch automobile training in Bangladesh

Kia Corporation, a South Korean automobile giant, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its local partner Meghna Automobiles Limited to initiate automobile technical training in Bangladesh.

The training will be beneficial for Bangladeshi automobile engineers and technicians, as the sector faces a scarcity of trained human resources, said Meghna Automobiles officials.

Khawza Masudur Rahman, deputy general manager of Meghna Automobiles, told The Business Standard that the two groups will build an automobile technical training institute in Bangladesh before the local Kia assembling plant starts commercial production early next year.

To facilitate comprehensive training, Kia Corporation has donated one unit of each of the car models to be assembled in Bangladesh, alongside a full set of training equipment and its virtual reality technology for the training institute.

Meghna officials said that the planned institute aims to massively improve automobile skills in Bangladesh and that it will have deep collaboration with local engineering universities.

Meghna Automobiles already has a group of Kia-trained engineers who are contributing to the training for trainers in the region, and Kia's regional team has expressed its hope that the company will contribute more to the local training.

Kia Corporation also remains open to the possibility of conducting training sessions in Bangladesh if Meghna Automobiles decides to request it, according to Meghna Automobiles, which has been working as the distributor of Kia cars in Bangladesh.

First Secretary of Korean Embassy Yang Min Seo, Meghna Automobiles Director Rashiqur Rahman Mahin, Kia Head of Ownership Business Group DH Hwang, State-owned car assembler Pragati Industries Limited's Managing Director Abul Kalam Azad, former member of parliament Aktaruzzaman, Kia APAC region's Vice President Dato Samson Anand George, Coordinating Director Jay Park and Kia Headquarters Senior Manager Alex Kim were among the participants at the signing ceremony.

Earlier this year, another Korean car giant, Hyundai, started local painting and assembling of its cars in the country at a hi-tech park in Gazipur by homegrown Fair Technology. The local plant has fuelled Hyundai car sales in Bangladesh, as the government is imposing fewer duties and taxes for the locally made units.

Meghna Automobiles is planning to locally assemble four Kia models, three of which will be for the public and one will be sold to the government via Pragati Industries.