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Brandix and Ocean Lanka in US $ 20 million Joint Venture
-- Top knit fabric manufacturer joins Sri Lanka's largest
apparel exporter to set up one of the region's largest knit
fabric mills at Brandix Apparel City in
India --
Sri Lanka's apparel sector giant Brandix will collaborate
with Sri Lanka's largest knit fabric manufacturer Ocean Lanka
to invest US$ 20 million in a joint venture knit fabric mill
at the Brandix Apparel City (BAC) in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Ocean Lanka is a joint venture partnership of Fountain Set
(Holdings) Limited, Hong Kong, Brandix and the Hirdaramani
group.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Colombo by Brandix
CEO Ashroff Omar and HA Chung Fong, Chairman, Managing Director
and Founder of the Fountain Set Group, the major shareholder
in Ocean Lanka, envisages the establishment of a state-of-the
art manufacturing unit. Incorporated as Ocean India, the mill
will serve the needs of apparel manufacturing units in BAC
and will be the largest knit fabric mill in the South Asia
region.
Commenting on this visionary new venture, Brandix CEO Ashroff
Omar said: "Ocean Lanka's interest in investing in the BAC
is a validation at the highest level of the potential for
this mammoth apparel manufacturing city. Major international
apparel manufacturers and other supply chain partners have
expressed interest in setting up at BAC. The presence of one
of the world's largest knit fabric manufacturers meets one
of the biggest requirements of these stakeholders and underwrites
the success of the project."
Fountain Set Chairman and Managing Director HA Chung Fong
said: "The BAC is one of the most exciting new manufacturing
locations in the world, and we are pleased to go in with a
partner of the calibre of Brandix to set up this new manufacturing
unit in India."
Ocean Lanka is the latest supply-chain partner to join BAC,
contributing to the Park's proposition of a complete vertically
integrated solution. The joint venture agreement between Brandix
and Ocean Lanka was signed just three weeks after an agreement
between Brandix and the Hayleys Group to set up a US $ 15
million central logistics hub for the Apparel City.
Based on an innovative 'fibre-to-store' concept, BAC is the
first of its kind in South Asia, with capabilities in spinning,
fabric, accessory and apparel manufacture supported by services
such as centralized logistics, training facilities, laboratories
and other ancillary requirements, making it a fully-integrated
one-stop-shop.
Brandix pioneered the concept of total solutions in the Sri
Lankan apparel industry and is Sri Lanka's largest exporter
with a consolidated annual turnover of over US$ 320 million.
Its corporate philosophy is to deliver innovative products
from concept-to-shop, faster, better and at competitive prices.
Brandix has pursued an aggressive growth strategy to counter
the challenges of the post quota regime. Over the last three
years it has invested USD 66 million (LKR 6.6 billion) and
in the last year alone the Group has invested more than USD
25 million (LKR 2.5 billion) to expand its Sri Lankan operations,
with investments of US $ 35 million (LKR 3.5 billion) in the
pipeline.
A joint-venture partnership of Fountain Set (Holdings) Limited,
Hong Kong, Brandix and the Hirdaramani group, Ocean Lanka
is Sri Lanka's largest weft knitted fabric manufacturer. Fountain
Set, the major shareholder is one of the world's largest circular
knitted fabric manufacturers, supplying to over 40 countries
to internationally renowned retail brands.
March 30, 2007
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