Standard Chartered and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) hosted jointly ‘Showcase Bangladesh 2021: Bangladesh-Japan Investment Summit’ event where public and private sector leaders of Bangladesh and Japan discussed the long-standing relationship between the two nations, and the shared opportunities that exist.
The virtual forum showcased the partnership potential between Bangladesh and Japan. It highlighted the strategic opportunities for Japanese investments, high-potential investment sectors in Bangladesh, and Bangladesh’s initiatives to foster foreign investments. Delegates representing public and private sectors, policymakers, investors, bankers and the diplomatic communities of both nations were in attendance.
Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, MP, Honourable Foreign Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, attended the event as chief guest, while Salman Fazlur Rahman, Private Sector Industry & Investment Adviser to Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, was present as guest of honour. Md. Sirazul Islam, Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, delivered the keynote speech, a press release said.
Also present was H.E. ITO Naoki, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh; H.E. Shahabuddin Ahmed, Ambassador, Embassy of Bangladesh in Japan; Md Sirazul Islam, Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority; Yuho Hayakawa, Chief Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Yuji Ando, Country representative, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO); Shariful Alam, JBCCI Vice Chair & Country Chairperson at Mitsui & Co. (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd; and Myung-Ho Lee, General Manager, Mitsubishi Corporation Dhaka Office.
Naser Ezaz Bijoy, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bangladesh said, “Japan and Bangladesh enjoy a special relationship which has stood the test of time. As the relationships between governments and private sectors of our nations deepen, bilateral ties are poised to reach new heights in the coming years. Even as we celebrate 50 years of our nationhood, I am convinced that this is a story that has only just begun.”
Yasunori Takeuchi, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Japan, said, “Economic growth in Japan has been very low, below 1% on average, over 2 decades. Population has been decreasing since 2008. Japan is a fast aging society, with average age of 45 now. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, GDP has been growing at around 6% on average for the last 2 decades. Bangladesh is a very young and energetic society. It is a natural strategy for Japanese Corporate to invest in high growth market in overseas. Bangladesh and Japan are best partners, as mutual complementation will bring about win-win growth and prosperity for both.”
Abdul Momen, MP said, “Our goal is to create a knowledge-based economy. One of the main avenues we want to improve in is the ICT sector of our country. It is proliferating every sphere of commerce and society, and is a key component for further progress. Japan has always been our trustworthy developmental partner. They have endorsed nearly 16 billion funds for several infrastructural development projects. We greatly appreciate their support, and we are expecting a new wave of forthcoming ventures soon.”
Salman F Rahman said, “In the post-pandemic age, the supply chain reliability and sustainability has become important and we have to take advantage of the supply chain network diversification. To make this change easier we need to make taka convertible, otherwise we will continue to have issues with foreign exchange. Standard Chartered can play a role in matchmaking between Japanese investors and Bangladeshi companies. We shouldn’t be complacent but continue to aim higher for a closer relationship.”
Mohammad Sirazul Islam said, “Bangladesh has sustained 7% growth in the last decade, and we are confident enough to chase higher GDP growth targets. There are over 300 Japanese companies in our country, and more are willing to expand. Currently, Japan and Bangladesh are on very good terms. Japan contributes to 2% of the FDI stock, but we want this to be much higher. BIDA is ready to provide full support to Japanese companies to accelerate the innovation and expertise that is required to create our own success story of development.”
ITO Naoki said, “Within 5 years, Bangladesh will show rapid infrastructure developments and infrastructure will no longer be bottlenecks for Japanese investors. The investment climate and availability of human resources has expanded greatly, and the country’s strategic geographical location is greatly to its merit. The previous difficulties of doing business in Bangladesh have reduced.”
Shahabuddin Ahmed said, “Japan is Bangladesh’s trusted and time-tested friend since our Independence, and our single-largest bilateral development partner. Over the years, we have seen a continuous growth of trade, investment and other economic activities between the two countries. Despite the restrictions caused by Covid-19, we have noticed increasing interest by Japanese businesses in FDI. Factors such as consistent economic growth, a strategic geographical location, increasing interregional and global remittance, a young and skilled workforce, competitive labour costs, infrastructures, policy supports such as fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to investors are just some of the few factors that attract Japanese investors to Bangladesh.”
Yuho Hayakawa said, “In terms of energy, a stable supply of power must be ensured while fully taking into account the attendant environmental concerns. Before integrating new technology, economic and financial feasibility must be considered carefully as well. At present, JICA is partnering with Bangladesh Bank to provide financial support in energy efficiency so we can mobilise greater levels of private sector finance. Continuous framework and dialogue development between the private sector and the government can also be a great catalyst. Providing efficient, transparent and investor-friendly conditions is important. The Bangladeshi government is very visionary, seeing climate change not only as a threat but an opportunity and tries to respond to climate change from a long-term view–the climate prosperity plan is an important example of this.”
Yuji Ando said, “Issues of connectivity with other economic regions must be tackled for Bangladesh to successfully join the global supply chain and manufacturing network. Bangladesh must address shortcomings in lead time and standardise foreign exchange policy.” He continued, “Time-consuming customs operations are a major bottleneck in Bangladesh international trade. Transparency in custom operations should also be improved for Bangladesh to become more integrated within the global supply chain network. Rules and regulations must be reviewed; L/Cs should be replaced by telegraphic transfer.”
Shariful Alam said, “Regulatory firms are bringing positive developments for foreign investors and will attract potential investors. BIDA’s one-stop service portal is really simplifying the process and helping foreign companies in Bangladesh. The simplification of outward remittance repatriation for profit which does not require any permissions has helped in improving the efficiency of organisations.” He added, “However, we would also like to appeal for improvement in some areas such as: more business-conducive permissions for branch officers, easing of acquiring L/C permissions, and lower port congestion at Chattagram port.”
Myung-Ho Lee said, “Bangladesh’s growing domestic consumer market is certainly a lucrative arena for potential new Japanese investors. The key for successful investment now is to find reliable, long-term Bangladeshi local partners. Of course, strong government leadership, initiatives and timely support are also required to bolster the market.”
