Japanese firms most optimistic of their prospects on Bangladesh out of Asia
Bangladesh is the top decision for Japanese companies wanting to expand business found in Asia and Oceania within the next several years due to its high probable and profitability, according to a good survey by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).
Some 70.3 % of japan companies in Bangladesh are mulling growing business within the next one to two years, 23.4 % believe their operations would remain the same and 1.6 % are pondering over taking a reduction.
The figures are from the '2019 JETRO Survey on Business Condition of Japanese Companies in Asia and Oceania', which is yet to be released officially.
The study took comments of 13,458 Japanese organizations engaged in making and non-making sectors in 20 Asia and Oceania countries between the weeks of August and September this past year.
The Japanese firms in India will be the up coming most sanguine ones: 65.5 % are planning expansion.
Vietnam will come in third, with 63.9 % of the Japanese organizations there are planning expansion. It is accompanied by Pakistan at 62.5 %.
Bangladesh came in 5th regarding profitability for Japanese firms.
Some 36.7 % of japan companies operating in Bangladesh expect a rise in profit in 2019 from a year earlier, while 44.9 per cent expect it to stay the same. Some 18.4 % are bracing for a contraction within their profits.
The study also found some 68.3 % of japan companies are preparing to boost the number of hometown employees they have within the next one year, 29.3 % to keep it the same and 2.4 % to get a reduction.
The recruitment plan may be the second major among the countries surveyed, while it was the 5th in the last year.
"Local production price is 30.4 per cent cheaper in Bangladesh compared with that in Japan," explained the survey report.
JETRO found the Japanese firms were worried about the time adopted at ports, telling it took 14.3 days on the average for freight to get import clearance upon arrival at a sea port. For airports it had been 8.1 times. Bangladesh ranked the most detrimental in this case.
In case of making recruitments or developing recruiting in Bangladesh, 81.3 % of the firms were facing difficulties due to a lack of skilled workforce or technically sound workers.
Some 61.9 % of the employers raised concerns about the caliber of employees. Last 12 months it had been 62.5 %.
JETRO suggested Bangladesh concentrate on skills production education or vocational training centres and initiatives for enhancing the caliber of education.
Besides, it found 70.8 % of the companies facing difficulties in neighborhood procurement of raw materials due to a lack of backward linkage industries.
As of December 2019, some 300 Japanese companies were conducting business in Bangladesh. There have been only 82 of these a decade ago.
As of December this past year, Japanese private corporations invested $386 million found in Bangladesh.
"The next five years will be very important for Japanese organizations as the basic infrastructure would be create in Bangladesh," stated Yuji Ando, nation representative of JETRO.
The country has been achieving a steady growth over the years, that was encouraging Japanese investors to come over.
"But now, improvements were becoming made towards a business-friendly environment," he added.
