Some 16 textile mills that had shut down in Bangladesh will be reopened under a public-private partnership. The aim is to combine the resources of the state and the skilled manpower of the private sector for further progress of the country’s textile industry. The public-private partnership project is expected to lead to maximum utilization of manpower and resources; profit maximization; risk minimization; reduced cost.

Meanwhile textile mills in Bangladesh want the five per cent advance tax proposed on import of textile machinery and spare parts to be withdrawn. They say the proposed taxes would discourage investment in the sector and halt expansion of textile mills in the country. The five per cent tax is also proposed on some raw materials used in textile mills such as polyester, tencel fiber and viscose. As of now import of textile machinery is subject to only one per cent customs duty. There are 430 yarn manufacturing mills, 802 fabric manufacturing mills, and 244 dyeing-printing finishing mills in Bangladesh. Proposals the industry has welcomed are those relating to keep the corporation tax rate at 15 per cent for the textile sector for the next three years and a one per cent cash incentive against exports of apparel goods to traditional markets.