Golden Harvest to invest Tk5cr in e-business
Against the investment, it will own 45% of the company to be set up for operating the online business
Golden Harvest Agro Industries has decided to invest Tk5 crore in an e-commerce platform.
After the board meeting on Monday afternoon, Company Secretary Nirmal Chandra Sardar told The Business Standard it would be a delivery, booking, and ticketing platform.
He said the platform would extend and deepen the company's attachment with busy customers' daily lives.
Against the Tk5 crore investment, the Golden Harvest will own 45% of the company to be set up for operating the online business, he also said.
Golden Harvest's data processing and software development sister concern, Golden Harvest Infotech, will be one of the partners in the e-commerce business.
Infotech's IT expertise will help properly develop the planned online platform, said Nirmal, adding that the IT firm with 1,800 employees is the top one in the industry.
"During the lockdown last year, Golden Harvest launched home deliveries within Dhaka. We want to strengthen our door-to-door presence in the coming days as an increasing number of busy urban people now prefer receiving their daily necessities at their doorsteps."
"The ready-to-cook frozen food giant also launched ready-to-eat frozen food last year and a portion of its existing customers alongside many new ones have already loved it," according to Nirmal.
When asked about when the e-commerce platform would be launched, the company secretary said, "That is yet to be finalised but the teams will be working faster. On the platform, customers can order groceries, food, and drugs. They can also buy travel tickets, book hotels, and get many other services."
Golden Harvest is a leading name in the agro-processing industry of Bangladesh. The World Bank Group and a Nordic group have joined them as business partners.
Alongside frozen food and ice cream, it is also expanding into dairy and cold chain infrastructure.
At Monday's board meeting, the company announced a 2% interim cash dividend only for general shareholders as no sponsor or director will take that.
Investors who will hold Golden Harvest Agro Industries shares on 8 April will avail the interim cash dividend, said the company.
