IOC sets up joint venture firm for LPG business in Bangladesh

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has set up a joint venture with Bangladesh’s RR Holdings Ltd for LPG business in that country. The joint venture company will import LPG for sale in the local market.

In a statement, the company said: “IOC Middle East FZE, Dubai, a whollyowned subsidiary of IOC, and RR Holdings Ltd, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, the holding company of Beximco LPG of Bangladesh, signed an agreement for the formation of a 50:50 joint venture company (JVC) for LPG business in Bangladesh.”

The company, which started with lubricant marketing in Bangladesh in 1999, said it is now joining hands with a formidable partner. “LPG market in Bangladesh has seen a five-fold growth in the past five years and is expected to grow at 12-13 %,” it said. As per the business plan, the joint venture would begin functioning by acquiring Beximco’s existing LPG assets. Through this Joint Venture, IOC together with Beximco plans to further expand its downstream business in Bangladesh and other countries.

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan was present on the signing in of the Joint Venture Agreement in the presence of Salman Fazlur Rahman, Advisor to PM of Bangladesh and Nasrul Hamid, State Minister for Power, Energy & Mineral Resources, Bangladesh.

Pradhan, speaking on the occasion, spoke about the long standing relationship between India and Bangladesh which are joined by history, culture, and shared sacrifices. On the role of energy sector in India-Bangladesh relationship, he said, “I am happy to note that energy cooperation between our two countries has made considerable progress during the last few years. This is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to build an “Energy Bridge” with Bangladesh as a part of our “Neighbourhood First” policy. The recent official visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to New Delhi in October 2019 further strengthened the engagement and opened new vistas of co-operation.”

He said that this event marks yet another step towards expanding bilateral energy cooperation with Bangladesh and expressed confidence that the experience of Indian Oil as a pioneer in implementing Pradhan Mantri UjjwalaYojana towards enhancing rural penetration of LPG as a clean cooking fuel in India, would help in promoting the use of LPG in Bangladesh. “This joint venture in Bangladesh would be a catalyst of socioeconomic change through increase in access to clean cooking fuel in Bangladesh,” he further added.

Salman Fazlur Rahman, Advisor to Bangladesh PM, said: “The agreement should serve as a testament to the remarkable investment potential of Bangladesh.”