Antex Group, the Chinese textile production company, has officially started producing export-standard textile products inside the recently inaugurated industrial park in Ethiopia, Adama Industrial Park. This is in accordance with Ethiopia’s ambition towards boosting its export market.
Antex Group is established with an initial capital of $10 million. As it went operational in Adama Industrial Park, it has created around 1,500 jobs for the local community. As Antex’s factory goes fully operational, the apparel it offers for export include sportswear, lingerie and casual wear.
Antex’s plant inside the confines of Adama Industrial Park is the first production line for the company, and according to the firm’s Group Chairman Qian Anhua, it is expected to generate an estimated $110,000 from the export of its first batch of products. From their exports for the international market in 2019, they expect to make close to $50 million, Mr. Qian added.
Lelise Neme, CEO of Ethiopia Industrial Park Development Corporation (IPDC), spoke in favor of Antex’s success and ambition. "The Antex Group has achieved a milestone despite facing various challenges," Mr. Lelise remarked. "We would like to see many international markets-bound containers from the company's production line," he added. He also assured Antext officials that the Ethiopian government in general and the corporation he leads in particular are “ready to help [them] achieve [their] targets.”
Tigist Gemechu, a production line coordinator at the newly inaugurated factory and one of the thousand local members of the community who find employment there, speaking of the inauguration of the company, said, “it was a proud moment for me and my colleagues.” Tigist, who went through a six-month training prior to employment, added "discipline at work, efficient time management and diligent work ethic are the most important qualities that I learned over the past months."
Antex Group’s factory is inaugurated as increasingly more Chinese companies get involved in Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector. Six textile and garment oriented industrial parks Ethiopia is currently busy setting in place are expected to generate $30 billion worth of exports by the year 2025.
Ethiopia continues its rigorous quest of building industrial parks, which is part of the initiative to make Ethiopia a manufacturing hub of Africa, and a middle-income country, by the year 2025.
Source: Xinhua
