Bangladesh-Japan B2B event from May 22

In a bid to boost bilateral trade and investment between Bangladesh and Japan, a business-to-business (B2B) match-making event is going to be held from May 22 to May 26 in three important cities of Japan, from where Bangladesh expects to get big investment.

Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JBCCI) and Haison International Limited will jointly organise the event in Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo. United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) ITPO Tokyo will provide local support in arranging the events.

Talking to The Business Post, JBCCI Vice President and also CEO of Haison International Limited Md Jalalul Hai hoped that their match-making event will be very fruitful as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently visited Japan to strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries.

“Many Japanese investors are very keen to invest in Bangladesh. Now Bangladesh is a very investment friendly country compared to others due to geographical importance, big consumer market, infrastructure development, and other reasons,” he said.

Jalalul said Japanese investors consider Bangladesh as their alternative investment place now. They are shifting their focus from Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to Bangladesh.

“We started arranging such events in 2017. We are getting good responses from Japanese people. We hope that our business relationship will further strengthen in future,” he said.

“A total of 14 Bangladeshi companies in the engineering, construction, logistics, shipping, SEZ management, ICT Park, real estate and hospitality, health and beauty, machinery, tools, automobiles, consultancy, banking and finance sectors will participate in the event looking for possible business collaboration with the Japanese companies,” the JBCCI vice president informed.

He said organisers will arrange around 100 B2B meetings in the three important cities of Japan- Fukuoka on May 22, Osaka on May 24 and Tokyo on May 24, 25 and 26.

A Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) director will be deputed at UNIDO ITPO Tokyo as the Bangladesh delegate and representative from JBCCI will take part there.

According to Jalalul, the BIDA director will speak about the present investment opportunities in Bangladesh and a director from HAISON International will speak about the business practices by the Bangladeshi companies vis-a-vis Japanese firms. In each of the events, a Japanese investor with investment in Bangladesh will share his experiences. The Bangladesh Embassy in Japan will provide necessary support during the programme.

The total bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Japan reached $3.79 billion in 2021-22 fiscal year.

Earlier, former Japan’s ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki said the bilateral trade between the two countries will reach $20 billion by 2030.

He also expected that garment exports from Bangladesh to Japan will rise 10-fold to reach $10 billion during the same period.

Currently, there are around 350 Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh. In addition, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last year inaugurated the operation of the Japanese Economic Zone, officially known as Bangladesh Special Economic Zone (BSEZ), at Araihazar in Narayanganj district on 1000 acres of land. The economic zone is expected to draw investment of over $1.5 billion once it goes into full operation.