PM invites Japanese businesses to be dev partners in Bangladesh

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday urged Japanese business leaders to come to Bangladesh to explore the potential of business and investment opportunities that are waiting for them.

"We shall keep on improving the business environment and ensure a level playing field for you all to do business in Bangladesh," she said while interacting with the selected Japanese business leaders (CEOs) at Hotel Westin in Tokyo.

Earlier on the day, while opening the Bangladesh Investment Summit at the same venue, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh was going to be a regional hub for investment, industrialisation and export due to the government's pragmatic policies, calling for more Japanese investment in larger volumes, adds BSS.

"With our pragmatic policies and Vision, Bangladesh is guaranteed to emerge as a regional hub for investment, industrialisation and exports to diverse destinations in the region and beyond," she said.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) jointly organised the summit titled "Trade and Investment Opportunities between Bangladesh and Japan." Eleven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between private organisations from Bangladesh and Japan were exchanged in the presence of Bangladesh's prime minister.

The premier said Bangladesh was moving forward to a prosperous future.

"We want you all to be partners in our development and achievements. Do invest in Bangladesh. We are confident that your investment will bring you huge success", she said.

"We seek more investment from Japan," Sheikh Hasina said.

Premier Sheikh Hasina said even under the duress of Covid-19 pandemic, the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Japan continued to grow significantly and crossed the $4 billion milestone for the first time in FY22.

"The number of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh has gone up steadily in the last few years, especially since 2014 when we entered into our "comprehensive partnership", and Japan's commitment under the Big-B initiative," she said.

The Bangladesh premier said she is sure that Japanese businesspeople are also following this increasing trend, and would be positively inclined to either expanding their existing businesses or opening new ones in Bangladesh.

"I want to assure you that my government and all relevant agencies are keen to help you and our other friends from Japan in business endeavours in Bangladesh," she said.

Seeing the exemplary outcome of the two countries' bilateral relations in the last five decades, Bangladesh's expectation is for a larger footprint of Japan in Bangladesh in the coming years, she said.

"We have already resolved a number of regulatory and policy issues raised by Japanese companies in Bangladesh," she added.

In this connection, the Bangladesh premier said she herself took the initiative to form the Bangladesh-Japan Joint Public-Private Economic Dialogue (PPED), and it held the 5th round of PPED on 11 April just before her arrival in Japan.

She said Bangladesh has one of the most liberal foreign investment regimes in South Asia.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh is fast emerging as a highly lucrative location for investment in terms of competitive cost, abundant human resources, sizable domestic consumer market with high purchasing power and a growing middle class.

The premier said that Bangladeshis a country of 170 million people which is itself a growing market while its location in the heart of a bigger market of nearly three billion consumers, provides a huge attraction for business expansion.

She said that the HSBC Global Research Projection report indicates that Bangladesh is expected to become the 9th largest consumer market globally by 2030 overtaking the UK and Germany.

Referring to Bangladesh's ever-expanding economy, PM Sheikh Hasina said that opportunities have increased considerably in different sectors such as ICT, electronics, infrastructure, leather, textile, hospitality and tourism, heavy industry, chemical and fertiliser, and SMEs.

"Our government is doing everything it can to facilitate smooth, easy and efficient ways of doing business," she said.

The prime minister said they are building 100 Economic Zones, Hi-tech and Software Parks to offer them for foreign investment.

Noting that the numbers of non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) and people of Bangladeshi origin living in Japan are gradually increasing, she said they provide significant support to Bangladesh's economic activities through their remittances.

"I also urge them to develop more entrepreneurship, engage in business initiatives and joint ventures with their Japanese friends," she said.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, PM's Private Industry and Investment Affairs Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, State Minister for Information Communication and Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak, and Bida Executive Chairman (Senior Secretary) Lokman Hossain Miah, among others, were also present on the occasion.