The products of Bangladeshi brand Walton have huge potential in the consumer based electronics market of Bhutan which can help expand Dhaka’s external trade ties with Thimpu. Bhutanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Pema Choden said this expressing her keen interest to expand the bilateral trade relation with Bangladesh through importing more products of Walton, especially refrigerator, fridge, air conditioner, motorcycle and other home and kitchen appliances, to Bhutan.
Pema, who led a 5-member delegation, expressed her interest before the media after visiting different production units of Walton Hi-Tech Industries Limited (WHIL), especially refrigerator, air conditioner, television and motorcycle units, and the display centre, at Chandra in Gazipur on Sunday.
The other members of the delegation include Counselor (Trade) of Bhutanese Embassy in Dhaka Yonten Gyamtsho, Managing Director of State Trading Corporation of Bhutan Ltd (STCBL), a sole distributor of Walton products in Bhutan, Yeshey Selden, Head of Business of STCBL Tashi Pemo and Liaison Officer Sangay.
Among others, Director of Walton Group SM Rezaul Alam, Operative Director Uday Hakim, Lieutenant Col (Retd.) Abdul Kader, Col (Retd.) SM Shahadat Alam (Walton Microtech), and other high officials of the company were present.
Expressing her reaction over the visit, the Bhutanese envoy said, “I am very much impressed after visiting the production units of Walton. It is also a matter of great enthusiasm that the local brand that was established not long ago has been able to capture a lion portion of the electronics market of Bangladesh.”
Walton is a very well known brand in Bangladesh, she said adding, during last one year she has experienced that Walton has a very strong presence across Bangladesh, especially in the country’s remote areas.
“We, Bhutanese Embassy, are trying to promote bilateral trade relation with Bangladesh,” Pema said.
The State Trading Corporation of Bhutan Ltd (STCBL) has already taken the initiative to purchase Walton products for Bhutan, she said adding: “We are very keen to expand the trade further.”
Mentioning various investment advantages available in Bhutan like low cost of electricity, special economic zones for foreign investors and so on, the envoy invited Walton to come up with investment in Bhutan.
“Bhutan is always open for trade and investment, especially for the neighbouring countries. Since Walton is a very big company, we would like to invite you to explore the investment potential in Bhutan,” Pema said.
STCBL’s Managing Director Yeshey Selden said, they are importing LED (Light Emitting Diode) and colour line televisions from Walton at present.
“Today, we visited the production units of Walton and experienced that along with TV, Walton also manufactures fridge, refrigerator, motorcycle, air conditioner, home and kitchen appliance, which have a huge market in Bhutan,” she said and expressed her keen interest to import Walton products at large scale.
Besides, to make Walton brand a most popular brand in the Bhutanese market, she underscored the need for working together to turn their dream into reality.
During the event, Walton also presented a video documentation highlighting the production processes of its different products.
