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Toys exporter goes into production today

Sarwar A Chowdhury
GSL Export begins commercial production of toys today, to find a niche in the global marketmostly dominated by China.
The joint-venture, a subsidiary of listed company Golden Son, will produce soft and plush toys for export purposes. The company targets to export toys worth Tk 40 crore in the first one year.
"In our first shipment, we will send toys worth €0.215 million to Germany by early November," said Belal Ahmed, chairman of GSL Export. The company currently employs more than 300 workers and the number will reach 1,000 by the yearend.
"We are booked till December with orders from Germany alone," he said, adding that they will move to enter new destinations from January next year, with Russia being a priority.
China controls around 99 percent of the toys market worldwide, Ahmed said. However, China is losing its competitiveness in many markets due to a rise in the cost of production for a shortage of labour, he added.
“This is an opportunity for us," said Ahmed, also managing director of Golden Son, which holds a 50 percent stake in GSL Export.
Stephen Christenson, a German entrepreneur, has a 40 percent stake in GSL, while Ahmed holds 10 percent.
Christenson runs business and factories with similar product lines in Germany, Latvia and China.
More than Tk 7 crore has already been invested in the factory of international standards located in Chittagong.
"The amount of investment will subsequently reach Tk 40 crore within the next three years," Ahmed said.
Production will initially begin on 50,000 square feet of rented space on Golden Son's premises, Ahmed added. "Gradually, we will expand the unit to two lakh square feet."The business and profits from the subsidiary will also increase profitability of Golden Son, which was listed on the stockmarket in 2007.
Golden Son has also invested Tk 20 crore to purchase capital machinery and an additional Tk 60 crore to construct its own factory building during January-September this year.
Golden Son, a Bangladesh-Taiwan joint venture, engages in manufacturing, importing and exporting products like electrical motors for fans, non-electrical cookware appliances and garment accessories. The company has also invested in manufacturing LED lights with plans to expand into solar energy-based lights.
"Commercial production at our new setup will start from January. As a result, production and sales of the company will increase by around 50 percent," Ahmed added.
Each Golden Son share traded between Tk 56.30 and Tk 52.80 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday, before closing atTk 53.40.
The company's net profit as of June was Tk 25.88 crore with earnings-per shareofTk2.12.