Shoe firm puts locals on steady footing in Dhaka

DHAKA-Thousands of households in the Gazipur district on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka have become better off after a shoe-making factory backed by Chinese investment opened there in 2012.

Panda Shoes Industries Ltd has not only brought investment and development opportunities to the local district, but also provided jobs on the doorsteps of villagers there.

Moreover, its shoe production has a special focus on the local market, making shoes for the Bangladeshi people to wear.

The factory can make millions of pairs of shoes with a variety of designs and employs people mostly from Gazipur, which has turned from an isolated rural hinterland into a growth center, as, due to the factory, infrastructure in the area has seen an upgrade, which has contributed to the transformation of local landscape, with the Mazukhan village as an example.

Mosammat Mina Akhter, who has worked in the factory located in Mazukhan village for about four years, says the local residents enjoy many different facilities that have appeared following the opening of the factory.

"Before I took the job, we did not have any kind of infrastructure like paved roads and shops," she recalls, adding that people from different districts of the South Asian country also came to work in the factory, renting local people's houses. "We've benefited from the establishment of the factory here."

Akhter says she hopes that the factory and its surrounding areas will be developed further in the future.

Factory employee Dalia Khatun, from Khulna district, some 180 kilometers southwest of Dhaka, says that her income has provided a better life for herself, her husband and their several children. "I work here and I'm fine in all aspects, especially financially," she says.

Ataur Rahman, a former "service holder" who has been doing business with the factory, says he has been doing both wholesale and retail businesses of Panda products in Gazipur, and he's earned profit from it.

About 11 years ago, Cai Chunlei, general manager of the factory, recalls, it "started as a small factory with fewer than 100 people".

"Now we have more than 2,000 Bangladeshi staff," says Cai, also vice-president of the Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh.

"We're optimistic about the Bangladesh market. If Bangladesh's economy develops further, the domestic demand for shoes will increase greatly," Cai says, adding that while the company predominantly targets the wholesale market in Bangladesh, it has also opened an online store.

"We're also preparing to open physical stores," he says, adding that the plan was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Business was bad with the closure of all schools in Bangladesh."When the schools are closed, it affects our sales a lot," he says.

The factory's production, however, has continued, albeit with strict COVID-19 prevention measures in place. "We also guaranteed pay to local workers and did not affect their lifestyle,"Cai says.

To cope with fallout from COVID-19, Cai adds that they need the local government's policy support in areas such as taxation and customs clearance.

"Foreign investors like us have been in a difficult situation during the pandemic. If the government can give us some support in this respect, it will help," he says.