Some 70.8 per cent of the Japanese companies in a survey have expressed their dissatisfaction over the business environment in Bangladesh, whereas 70.6 per cent of them are still willing to expand their operations here.
Besides, 61.8 per cent of the companies operating in Bangladesh have predicted rise in their operating profit in 2023.
The findings of the survey, conducted by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) between August 22 and September 21 last year, were unveiled in a programme on Wednesday.
In collaboration with the JETRO, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), organised the programme at its Gulshan office in the city.
The event was also supported by the Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI) along with the Japanese Commerce and Industry Association in Dhaka (JCIAD).
Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Lokman Hossain Miah attended the programme as the chief guest, while Japanese Ambassador to Dhaka Iwama Kiminori was the special guest.
MCCI President Md Saiful Islam made the opening remarks, while JETRO Country Representative Yuji Ando made a presentation on '2022 JETRO survey on business conditions of Japanese companies in Asia and Oceania'.
JCIAD President Tetsuro Kano, MCCI Director Nihad Kabir, Ministry of Commerce Joint Secretary Abdus Samad Al Azad, and JBCCI Vice President Manabu Sugawara took part in a panel discussion.
The survey also revealed that the Japanese companies believed Bangladesh was a huge potential market for them. The Japanese companies in India most widely appreciated size and growth potential of the market.
"Similarly, the companies in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam also had high growth expectations."
Majority of the companies identified complicated customs clearance procedures and volatility in foreign exchange rate as two of the major bottlenecks for operations last year.
The other challenges were difficulties in local procurement of raw materials and parts, increased cost for procurement of raw materials, and shortage of electricity and power outage, according to them.
The previous edition of the survey in 2021 identified lack of quality employees, increased wages, time-consuming customs procedures, complicated customs clearance procedures, and restrictions on foreign remittance.
Summarising the keynote, Mr Yuji Ando said as the GSP facility utilisation rate of the Japanese companies in Bangladesh is high, trade deals like economic partnership agreement (EPA) would be expected.
Mr Lokman Hossain Miah said the BIDA has seriously taken the objections and bottlenecks - identified by the Japanese businesses in Bangladesh.
"On behalf of the BIDA, I would like to extend all-out support to the investors."
The agency has taken necessary actions to ensure providing work permit within the shortest possible time, he added.
Mr Iwama Kiminori said creating an optimum business environment is a joint challenge for the two countries. Discussions on EPA between Bangladesh and Japan are underway.
"We have completed two meetings, while preparations are going on for holding the third one for completing this," he added.
Mr Saiful Islam said Bangladesh has become an attractive destination for the Japanese companies, with nearly 350 of them investing more than US$380 million combined. Japanese investment in Bangladesh was around $100 million in 2022.
Japan can utilise the potential of Bangladeshi market with a rising number of middle-class consumers and its trade agreements with different countries.
Hailing the survey findings he said it would be imperative to follow up the findings at a regular interval to make the survey more purposeful.
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