Singer Bangladesh, one of the leading manufacturers and retailers of home appliances in the country, has begun manufacturing products at its new factory, becoming the first entity to do so inside Bangladesh Special Economic Zone (BSEZ) at Araihazar in Narayanganj.

Established with an investment of $78 million from Turkish multinational Arcelik, which holds the controlling stock, the new facility is aimed at reducing import dependence and locally manufacture over 90 percent of components.

"The company started to manufacture refrigerators at its plant at the BSEZ, which is popularly known as the Japanese special economic zone, last week," said Farhan Azhar, head of product at Singer Bangladesh.

Singer Bangladesh posted an announcement in this regard on the Dhaka Stock Exchange website yesterday.

"We will manufacture air conditioners, televisions, and other home appliances in phases by the third quarter of this year," said Azhar, adding that the new factory would directly employ around 5,000 people.

"The new plant can manufacture up to 10 lakh refrigerators per year but we will manufacture four lakh units initially," he added.

"We currently have a manufacturing unit in Savar, which will be shut down after the new plant becomes fully operational," he said.

He added that the plant in Savar was not equipped with up-to-date machinery but the new plant, set up on 35 acres, had world-class machinery to ensure products of a global standard.

"Consumer lifestyles are changing in line with the country's economic growth," said MHM Fairoz, managing director and chief executive officer of Singer Bangladesh.

"Keeping consumer centricity at the core of our operations, Singer Bangladesh is transforming its operations to bring the most contemporary and global standard products to customers in Bangladesh," he said.

"…we aim to become the leading consumer durables company in Bangladesh in the near future," he added.

Saleh Ahmed, project director of the BSEZ, said they had already allocated 220 acres of the 500-acre BSEZ among 17 companies.

Locals alongside those from Japan and the UK, including car manufacturers, have expressed interest to invest here and the authorities hope to attract $1 billion in foreign direct investment within the next five years, he added.

All utility services, including power, water and gas, are available at the BSEZ, he said.

Singer is one of the largest retailers of consumer durables in Bangladesh offering Singer, Beko and other brands, with 463 retail stores across the country along with more than 1,000 dealer shops.

Arcelik owns 57 percent of Singer Bangladesh while the remaining shares are publicly traded.

The company's stock was trading for Tk 145.60 at the close of the market yesterday, shedding its value by Tk 1.40 compared to the previous day.

The company's paid-up capital is Tk 98 crore and market capitalisation reached Tk 1,465 crore since being listed with Dhaka Stock Exchange in 1983.

Its net profit was Tk 52 crore in 2023.