FMCG giant Meghna Group buys 2 bulk carriers for Tk 450cr

Meghna Group of Industries, one of the leading FMCG and industrial conglomerates, has recently bought two new bulk carriers to take its total ocean-going ships to 16.

Each of these two ships cost Meghna $26 million, equivalent to Tk 226 crore. Each ship will create job opportunities for 25 crew.

The Group named the ships Meghna Sun and Meghna Star, which will carry its own goods, according to Mostafa Kamal, chairman and managing director of Meghna Group of Industries.

“The ships were made in Japan and each has a capacity of 58,500 tonnes,” Kamal told the Business Insider Bangladesh on Tuesday.

He said the ships were used only for five years though it has a life of around 35 years.
Bangladesh’s big conglomerates have been buying bulk ships to carry their own goods, mainly imported ones as they often face trouble in carrying goods in rented ships.

Meghna is a big player in Bangladesh’s fast moving consumer goods, such flour, sugar, edible oil and many more.

SR Shipping, a concern of steel maker KSRM, has the highest 23 ocean-going bulk carriers, followed by Meghna 16, Akij Group 10, state-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation 7, Bashundhara Group 4 and Karnaphuli Limited 4, according to the Bangladesh Ocean Going Ship Owners Association.

East Coast Group, Orion Group and MI Cement also have their own ocean-going ships.