Bangladesh a new frontier for Japanese investment, says envoy

Japanese companies are considering Bangladesh a new frontier of investment in Asia, said ITO Naoki, ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh.

He came up with the remarks while addressing a virtual seminar in Dhaka titled ‘Banking Support for Bangladesh-Japan Trade and Business Growth’, jointly organized by Eastern Bank (EBL) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on Monday September 28, 2021.

The Japanese ambassador at the event lauded the improved position of Bangladesh on ‘Ease of doing business’ index.

Representatives from top Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh attended the seminar, which was arranged to discuss and understand banking services and products requirements for Japanese investment in the country.

Managing Director and CEO of EBL said Japan is the biggest development partner of Bangladesh and EBL, as a leading private commercial bank of the country, should come up with products to meet the ever-growing banking requirements of Japanese companies here.

At the programme, he announced that EBL will open a Japan Desk soon to meet the banking needs of the Japanese companies with providing one-stop services.

Country Representative of JETRO Yuji Ando said Japan-Bangladesh enjoy special relationship. During the challenging time of Covid-19, the companies suffered a supply chain disruption.

“Japanese companies are looking for diversification of supply chain to reduce the risk,” he added.

He also said Bangladesh is one of the potential countries for the Japanese companies to diversify their productions.

EBL DMD Ahmed Shaheen, Head of Economic Department of Japanese embassy Haruta Hiroki, President of Japan Commerce and Industries Association in Dhaka Hikari Kawai, and Vice President of Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries SM Shariful Alam were present, among others, at the event.