A study, sponsored by two Japanese organisations, has identified Bangladesh's 11 sectors which could offer rewarding businesses opportunities to big companies from Japan.
Japanese companies would be required to fully exploit the demographic-dividend bonus alongside the advantages coming from the country's backwardness in a number of areas.
Conducted jointly by Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), a Japanese think tank, the study refers to benefits Bangladesh is entitled to as a least-developed country (LDC) in terms of the generalised system of preferences (GSP) and the trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPS).
Added up to the overseas trade privileges are a big workforce and consumers as well as lower wages.
These business advantages are "promising for Japan to invest in these sectors", says the study report.
Of the 11 sectors, the study shows jute, textile and apparel in which the country is historically famous for producing muslins and golden fibre as promising for value addition and supply chain for enjoying comparatively cheap labour structure for a longer time than other South and Southeast Asian countries.
But shipbuilding and ship-breaking, information technology, pharmaceutical and light engineering, agro-processing food products and retailing are also considered equally important sectors for Japan as a China-plus country for establishing labour-intensive industries replicating business model of RMG.
While sharing its information with the FE this week, JETRO country representative Kei Kawano said the study describes Bangladesh's graduation to an industrialised country from an agricultural one.
Bangladesh has already started enjoying demographic- dividend-bonus period which is likely to increase its brightness more and more for Japan to set up high labour- intensive industries, he said.
The study finds Bangladesh with abundant natural and human resources for its location at the mouth of three major rivers.
It draws the conclusion that the country was exactly one of the centres of cotton industry and there are visible signs of new moves to rejuvenate textile industry.
Leather industry is identified as natural blessing for Bangladesh due to the availability of good quality cattle hides.
But the study also lists the ship-breaking as an emerging sub-sector following improvement made through policy support received from the government of Bangladesh and the international sources.
In the case of IT, pharmaceutical and light engineering, the study focuses on the country's advantage as an LDC (least developed country) in these areas.
Large population and domestic markets with rising purchasing power are demonstrating the growth potential of domestic industries.
JETRO since inception in 1973 works for promoting mutually beneficial trade and investment between Japan and Bangladesh mainly in RMG, textiles, dyeing, ceramic, IT, handicraft, energy saving and human-resource development.
But the latest study was done to give an impetus to the bilateral cooperation.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was accompanied by a big delegation of Japanese companies, mainly of chief executive officers, to explore Bangladesh's potential as the China-plus country.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister visited Japan in May and the Japanese Prime Minister paid a return visit in September last year.
After the two visits, the JETRO found that there prevailed a perception gap among the Japanese companies about Bangladesh and it decided to conduct the study to reduce the gap.
Earlier, the agency also conducted another study, on "Japanese Affiliated Firms in Asia & Oceania for the Year 2014", where it had, however, highlighted investment challenges being faced by the Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh.
The latest Japanese study introduces the country for its success as garment exporter, the gradual increase in the contributions of manufacturing sector to the GDP.
But the JETRO chief said the study tries to examine and explore potential of emerging industries which diversified the current industrial structure in Bangladesh and are expected to achieve further growth in the future.
Some 223 Japanese companies have been doing business in Bangladesh since 2000, but the number did not grow much due to some daunting challenges.
These mainly include lack of electricity, high cost of borrowing, complications in tax system and administrative procedures, low skill of workers and political instability.
However, JETRO says 32 to 40 new Japanese companies were added to the list during the last one year following the visits of the two premiers.
Japan International Cooperation Agency is now conducting feasibility study on setting up economic zones in Gazipur and Narsingdi after the sites had been selected for the Japanese investment.
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