Hexagon Ragasco enters Bangladesh

09.11.2016  Stock Exchange Release

Hexagon Composites' subsidiary Hexagon Ragasco has entered into a four-year frame agreement with Beximco Group for sales of composite LPG cylinders into the fast growing Bangladeshi market.

As natural gas is a limited resource in Bangladesh, the government aims to reserve this energy source for industrial applications and power generation. Piped natural gas for households is planned to be replaced with bottled LPG, and it is therefore anticipated that the demand for LPG cylinders will be significant in the coming years. The parties are targeting a volume of 1.4 million cylinders over the four-year period of the frame agreement.

The first delivery under the frame agreement will be shipped in the fourth quarter of this year. The total value of the initial order is approximately USD 2.1 million (approximately NOK 17 million).

"We expect that this agreement is the start of a long-term collaboration with Beximco Group," says Skjalg S. Stavheim, Managing Director of Hexagon Ragasco. "With a premium product offering considerable advantages over steel cylinders, we are confident that the composite LPG cylinders will help to make domestic use of LPG in Bangladesh safer and more user-friendly."

"We are very pleased to have entered into a partnership with Hexagon Ragasco. The lightweight LPG cylinders provide numerous advantages over traditional steel cylinders in terms of safety, corrosion-resistance and user-friendliness, and will give improved handling and experience for the distributors and consumers," says Ajmal Kabir, Group Director & CEO, Petroleum & LNG at Beximco Group. "With our leading position, we aim to enter the LPG business in Bangladesh on a large scale."

For more information:
Skjalg S. Stavheim, Managing Director, Hexagon Ragasco AS
Mobile: +47 977 95 565 | skjalg.stavheim@hexagonragasco.com

Investor Relations:
David Bandele, CFO, Hexagon Composites ASA
Telephone: +47 920 91 483 | david.bandele@hexagon.no

Media:
Solveig D Saether, Communication Manager, Hexagon Composites ASA
Phone: +47 906 34 977 | solveig.saether@hexagon.no

About Beximco Group
The Beximco Group is one of Bangladesh's largest and most diversified industrial conglomerates with an annual turnover in excess of USD one billion and employing 65,000 people. Its main facilities are located in Gazipur, outside Dhaka in Bangladesh. The publicly traded companies - Bangladesh Export Import Company Limited, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited, Shinepukur Ceramics Limited and Beximco Synthetics Limited - have a combined market capitalization of approximately USD 600 million.

About Hexagon Ragasco
Hexagon Ragasco is the world's leading manufacturer of composite LPG cylinders with more than 11 million units in commercial use. The high-volume, highly automated production facility in Raufoss, Norway is the most advanced of its kind world-wide. Hexagon Ragasco's products are unique and provide many advantages over traditional steel cylinders in terms of safety and user-friendliness.

About Hexagon Composites
Hexagon Ragasco is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hexagon Composites ASA, a leading global supplier of composite pressure cylinders and systems for gas applications. Hexagon Composites ASA is a publicly listed company with its headquarters in Aalesund, Norway.

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