UNIDO ITPO Tokyo organized “Bangladesh Business Seminar” online on 10 November 2020.
Followed by the Opening Remarks by Mr. Yuko Yasunaga, Head of UNIDO ITPO Tokyo, Mr. Jalalul Hai, CEO of Haison International Ltd. presented his experiences in promoting Japanese investments to Bangladesh over the past years and expressed his hope to further promote business partnerships between the two countries through continued cooperation with UNIDO ITPO Tokyo.
Mr. Yuji Ando, JETRO Representative in Dhaka, referred to the economic outlook of Bangladesh. GDP per capita of Bangladesh is nearly US$2,000. Although Bangladesh economy has contracted in 2019/20 due to pandemic, it is projected to recover in 2020/21 with a growth rate of 8.2% according to the government of Bangladesh, or 6.8% by ADB projection. Over 300 Japanese companies which are already in operation in Bangladesh are mainly in sectors including 1) textiles-related, 2) project-related such as ODA and infrastructure, 3) manufacturing, and 4) services & domestic sales. Recently IT sector has been attracting attention among investors as offshore bases and outsourcing contractors. Mr. Ando also briefed about the current coronavirus situation in the country, and added that after experiencing temporary lockdowns, almost all member companies of Japanese Commerce & Industry Association in Dhaka have already resumed their operations as at the end of Oct. 2020.
Mr. Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan (Jun), Secretary-General, Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JBCCI) introduced that business sectors such as 1) Mega infrastructure projects, 2) Garments/leather industries, 3) Consumer goods, and 4) Medical-related industries are currently attracting attention in Bangladesh. Mr. Bhuiyan also referred to the business opportunity of ICT industry, where over 4,500 ICT companies and 300,000 IT/ITES professionals exist in the country, and its domestic market is forecasted to grow from US$0.9-1.1 billion in 2017 to US$4.6-4.8 billion in 2025 with the compound average growth rate of 15%. Mr. Bhuiyan concluded his presentation by introducing the positive features of Bangladesh people as friendly, pro-Japan, trust in Japanese products, English capability, among others.
Twenty-two (22) Bangladesh companies interested in business partnerships with Japanese companies joined the webinar and introduced individually each company’s business activities as well as expectations towards Japanese businesses.
*You can meet with the said Bangladesh companies on an online platform until 30 Nov. 2020. We welcome your participation in this matching event. Details are given below.
https://www.unido.or.jp/en/coming/7793/
*To view the presentation slides, click the presentation title in the programme below. JETRO presentation is in Japanese.
Seminar Outline
Date/Time: 10 November 2020 (Tue) / 14:00-16:00 (JST)
Format: Online seminar * Live stream on zoom
Organizers: UNIDO ITPO Tokyo
Supporters: JETRO, Pacific Resource Exchange Center (PREX)
Japan-Bangladesh Committee for Commercial and Economic Co-operation
Language: English-Japanese Simultaneous Translation
Programme
14:00-14:05 Opening Remarks by Mr. Yuko Yasunaga, Head of UNIDO ITPO Tokyo
14:05-14:15 “Cooperation with UNIDO in Promoting Business Partnerships between Bangladesh and Japan”
by Mr. Jalalul Hai, CEO, Haison International Ltd.
14:15-14:30 “Economic Outlook and Trends of Japanese Companies in Bangladesh”
by Mr. Yuji Ando, JETRO Representative in Dhaka
14:30-14:40 “Recent Business Outlook in Bangladesh“
by Mr. Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan (Jun), Secretary-General,
Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JBCCI)
14:40-16:00 Self-introduction by 24 Bangladesh Companies
16:00 Close of the Seminar
