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Crisis time out: North Korea goes hunting for silk
Given the parlous state of its economy and its generally hostile attitude to the outside world, North Korea does not have much of a reputation as an outward investor. But, while the country’s political...
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Bangladesh: riots for higher wages
Days of violent protests by Bangladeshi garment workers – who produce clothes for western brands like Marks & Spencer, H&M, Tesco and Walmart – demanding a higher minimum wage peaked on Sunday...
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Bangladesh: a Chinese stitch-up?
Bangladesh could be this decade’s great usurper if it manages to sidle into the low-value manufacturing gap China is leaving in its wake as it moves up the value-adding ladder. And if a report by...
View Article[video] Cutting a new cloth in Pakistan
Under pressure from Bangladesh, China and India, Pakistan’s leading textile manufacturers are trying to move up the value chain. The FT’s Henny Sender visits a Nishat Mills factory to investigate what...
View ArticleMittelstand buy: Fong’s gets Monforts
Another German Mittelstand has been snapped up by a Chinese manufacturer, this time in textiles. Hong Kong-based Fong’s Industries has just completed its acquisition of Monforts, based just outside...
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Bangladesh faces US trade sanctions threat after deadly factory fire
The deadly fire at a clothing factory in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka in November, in which 117 workers died, could have consequences for the country’s exports as well as for its tarnished reputation...
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China re-balancing: good for the neighbours
The re-balancing of the Chinese economy should enable Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to double their share of the world textile market and boost intra-Asian trade as a proportion of world trade – so...
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Trade conditions weaken Egypt textiles
The slide in the value of the Egyptian pound since December is good news for the textile industry, but its impact is blunted by the deterioration in economic and business conditions since the 2011...
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Guest post: after Rana Plaza, let’s stop passing the buck over building...
By Qazi Arif of Envision Architects Nearly two weeks have passed since the disaster at Rana Plaza in Savar, Dhaka, which is considered to be the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, and the...
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US trade action over Rana Plaza disaster will hit Bangladesh exports
By Joseph Allchin in Dhaka The US has suspended preferential access to its market for Bangladesh because of what it sees as slow progress in enforcing heath and safety standards in the country’s...
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Guest post: corruption rampant a year after Bangladesh factory collapse
By Iftekhar Zaman, Transparency International, Bangladesh One year ago today, three thousand garment workers started a typical work day at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh. Like many of the country’s 4m...
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