ARD Group to set up autorickshaw plant in Bangaldesh

July 1, 2013: Hyderabad-based three-wheeler manufacturer ARD Group has signed an MoU with the Nitol Niloy Group of Bangladesh for a joint partnership to manufacture and distribute autorickshaws for the Bangladesh market.

This deal was part of the many contracts inked at the India-Bangladesh Investors’ Meet, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in Chennai on June 29. Other MoUs and JVs worth $75 million (Rs 446 crore) were signed by Indian manufacturers with their Bangladeshi counterparts. A $5 million MoU was also signed between the Chennai-based GoodLift tyres and FAS Finance & Investment for the manufacture of tyres.

The $5 million (Rs 30 crore) contract will see the ARD Group set up a manufacturing unit in Bangladesh within the next two years, while the Nitol Niloy Group will look after the distribution and service. The Nitol Niloy Group, through its dealership business – Nitol Motors – has been the distribution partner of Tata Motors in Bangladesh. The deal was overlooked by Abdul Matlub Ahmad, chairman of the Nitol Niloy Group, and top management from the ARD Group.

Ahmad, also the president of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & industry, said that he had hoped to rope in a two-wheeler manufacturer to set up a plant in Bangladesh. “The market size is at around 500,000 two-wheelers per year, with a 20 percent growth projected year-on-year,” Ahmad added. It is to be noted that a delegation from Hero MotoCorp had recently visited Bangladesh. The company had previously expressed interest in setting up assembly units in Bangladesh and Columbia. It already has a few CKD assembly operations through dealerships.

Apart from two-wheelers and three-wheelers, the delegation had also hoped to look for a partner to produce automobile filters, the size of the market being pegged at Rs 11.5 million, for which land is available in North-Western Bangladesh.

The Bangladeshi delegation had previously interacted with Indian industry from various sectors in Mumbai on June 27 and will proceed to interact with Kolkata-based industries soon.

KARTHIK H