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Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki has said factories in Araihazar Economic zone, dedicated for Japanese entrepreneurs, will start production in 2023.
Ito Naoki shared this information with President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Jashim Uddin at a meeting at FBCCI in Dhaka on Thursday, reports BSS citing a press release.
Ito Naoki said that Bangladesh would be a major destination for Japanese entrepreneurs to invest in the future.
The interest of Japanese companies is increasing, especially around the Araihazar economic zone, he added.
He said there is an opportunity to further develop the economy of Bangladesh by utilizing this interest.
However, Ito Naoki called for making the investment environment friendlier.
Restriction on overseas remittance from branches, limitation in loans for working capital, restriction on royalty remittance, overdue payment, delay of LC, collection of additional income taxes and VAT, renewal of bond license, wage gap between inside and outside EPZ etc are creating barriers to the investments, he added.
Md Jasim Uddin assured that FBCCI would work sincerely with the government to solve these problems.
He said more than a hundred Japanese companies have been doing business in Bangladesh for many years.
Besides, Japan is one of the major partners of Bangladesh in development projects, he added.
Moreover, he said, with the economic development, the lifestyle of the people of Bangladesh has been upgraded.
As a result, the size of the domestic market has also increased, he added.
He said the popularity of Japanese products in this country is also relatively high.
Therefore, he said, Japanese companies investing in Bangladesh are more likely to be profitable.