UNIDO ITPO Tokyo, jointly with Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) and the Embassy of Bangladesh in Japan, organized a webinar focusing on Investment Opportunities in Hi-Tech Parks in Bangladesh on 16 February 2023.
In the Opening Remarks, H.E. Mr. Shahabuddin Ahmed, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan, mentioned that bilateral trade as well as Japanese investment in Bangladesh has increased over the recent years. He also mentioned that Japan is a potential country in terms of bringing skilled human resources, and introduced that over 1,000 Bangladesh IT engineers are currently working in Japan.
Mr. Khandoker Azizul Islam, Managing Director, BHTPA introduced that 109 hi-tech parks are to be establihsed in different districts of the country including 28 already in operation, where 190 IT/ITES, hardware manufacturing and R&D have started operations, along with 151 startups under incubation. Mr. Islam also mentioned that various incentives are provided to investors including corporate tax exemption, income tax exemption for extatriate professionals, import duty exemption of capital machineries and assets, VAT exemption on utilities, and 100% profit repartriation.
Business experiences in IT sector in Bangladesh were shared by Mr. Masaki Horikawa, CEO of BJIT Inc. With 167 million population, high economic growth rate and English skills, Bangladesh is a potential destination for investment, where the government strongly promotes IT industry and 100,000 IT personnel are produced annually. BJIT has a plan to expand their business by hiring more engineers, aiming at 2,500 employees in 2026 and 10,000 in 2030 from the 1,000 people in 2023.
According to Mr. Yuji Ando, Country Representative of JETRO Dhaka, 338 Japanese companies are currently operating business in Bangladesh. As a recent trend, more companies are investing in construction sector, and IT sector is also attracting attentions. While there are some issues such as wage increase, delay in customs clearance, fluctuation in exchange rates, opportunities for Japanese companies are high in areas such as partnership with good standing local companies, supply of high value added products, domestic sales oriented projects, as well as IT industry with skilled engineers.
Dr. Ariful Haque, Minister (Commerce) of the Embassy of Bangladesh reported that the Embassy organized 11 events in 2022 to promote trade and investment, and mentioned that they will extend continued support to investors in cooperation with the relevant agencies and organizations both in Bangladesh and Japan.
The chief guest Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Honorable Minister of State for ICT introduced that the market in digital finance has grown to 3.1 billion dollars, while mobile manufacturing market and consumer electronics market have grown to 1.5 billion and 2.4 billion dollars, respectively. The minister mentioned that the goverment of Bangladesh will further enhance digital economy towards “Smart Bangladesh” in 2041, and concluded the speach by encouraging Japanese investors to consider investing in Bangladesh.
Outline:
Date: 16 February 2023 (Thursday)
Time: 15:00-16:00 (JST) / 12:00-13:00 (Bangladesh Time)
Format: Online seminar (Zoom)
Organized by: UNIDO ITPO Tokyo
Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA)
Embassy of Bangladesh in Japan
Language: Japanese-English Simultaneous Interpretation
*You can view presentation slides by clicking the titles below in blue.
Programme
Opening Remarks
H.E. Mr. Shahabuddin Ahmed, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan
Keynote Presentation: “Investment Opportunities in Hi-Tech Parks”
Dr. Khandoker Azizul Islam, Managing Director, BHTPA
Presentation: “Business Experiences in Bangladesh”
Mr. Masaki Horikawa, CEO, BJIT Inc.
Presentation: “Latest Business Environment in Bangladesh”
Mr. Yuji Ando, Country Representative, JETRO Dhaka
Presentation: “How Does Embassy Facilitate Japanese Investors?”
Dr. Ariful Haque, Minister (Commerce), Embassy of Bangladesh in Japan
Q & A Session
Closing Remarks by the Chief Guest
Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, Honorable Minister of State for Information and
Communication Technology (ICT), Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh
