Li & Fung offers compensation

Hong Kong sourcing giant Li & Fung said Sunday it was "distressed" by the deaths of 110 workers in a fire at a Bangladesh garment factory where it placed orders and offered compensation. The company said it would give $1,200 to the family of each worker who died in the blaze that swept through the nine-storey Tazreen Fashion plant 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of the capital Dhaka late on Saturday. It was the worst-ever fire to hit the country's garment industry. "We are very distressed and saddened by the deaths of workers and wish to express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims," a Li & Fung spokeswoman said in an email to AFP. The company is "matching the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association's financial assistance by pledging 100,000 Bangladeshi taka ($1,200) to each family of every victim," it said. The spokeswoman confirmed that the firm had placed orders for garments which were manufactured at the plant, where clothes were also made for other international companies such as European chain C&A. "We are in contact with the owner of the factory and we will be carrying out our own investigation into the circumstances which led to the fire," said the spokeswoman. The Hong Kong company sources products for US retailers like Wal-Mart Stores, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and Kohl's Corp.