Business Report :
Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Dhaka Country Representative Yuji Ando said Japanese firms have started to show interest to invest in Bangladesh as political situation is gradually improving here.
“In the current month (November), around eight new Japanese companies from various sectors, including infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics and food, came to us for discussion on investment. The number was almost zero in August and September. In October, it was a few,” he said.
Besides this, he said, many Japanese companies running business in Bangladesh came to JETRO for discussions on expansion or their problems.
Ando, however, said business sentiment for Japanese companies in Bangladesh is rather high in Asia and Oceania region. Especially, domestic market size and growth potential is high, he added.
For competitive labor cost, he said, Bangladesh has the second highest ratio of export volume in the total sales in the region.
Local procurement is the key factor for reducing the production cost and expanding the export and domestic business, he added.
From the comparative perspective (especially with ASEAN countries), Ando said, it would be necessary for business environment in Bangladesh to be improved by addressing the issues for Japanese companies in Bangladesh, especially in custom clearance procedures and transparency.
