Bangladesh has licensed a private company to produce alcoholic drinks for the first time.

Jamuna Distillery Limited (JDL) will produce whisky, brandy and gin for both domestic and foreign markets.

The granting of the licence ends the monopoly of state-owned Carew & Company, producers of liquor for the domestic market.

JDL is currently running production trials and hopes to start marketing its brands within the next month.

Forbidden

The population of Bangladesh stands at 130 million, but 87% are Muslims and so are forbidden from consuming alcohol by their religion.

But expensive bars and back-street liquor shops have become popular among the country's young, rich population.

"We have started the venture considering huge demand from five-star hotels and several government-licensed bars in Dhaka and other cities," a JDL spokesman told Reuters.

JDL plans to produce 150,000 litres of whisky, brandy and dry gin each year under its licence.

A senior JDL official said the company plans to market the drinks under the names of famous Persian poets, Khayyam (Hafiz) and Shirajee (Hafiz), and Mughal, a family who were the imperial rulers of the Indian subcontinent.

JDL traditionally produces spirits for industrial and medical uses.