Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– India’s Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group (VH Group) launches its operations in Bangladesh on Sunday.

The company will set up its own factory in Jessore, with an estimated monthly production capacity of 4,500 tons.

The $650 million conglomerate, which claims to be the largest fully integrated poultry group in Asia, looks to produce broiler and layer food locally, a company announcement said.

A number of international celebrities, including Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty and Fardeen Khan, as well as Australian cricketer Brett Lee and Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, will attend the launching ceremony at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital Dhaka.

Uttara Foods and Feeds Private Limited, which is a concern of VH Group, will produce broiler and layer food locally, using state-of-the-art technology.

The VH Group was the first company in India to start using specific pathogen-free eggs. It pioneered the concept of parent franchisee operations, popularized cage farming, and introduced for the first time in India, the concept of inactivated and combination vaccines.

BBN/SI/AD-26Sept10-1:23 am (BST)