& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Remove barriers

Japanese investors want hassle-free environment for doing business here

Rejaul Karim Byron
While Bangladesh eyes major investments from Japan, the Asian economic giant has identified some investment barriers and wants these to be removed.
One of the key impediments Japan has found is that Bangladesh does not have an office to offer one-stop services to ensure hassle-free completion of necessary formalities for the investors to start new businesses.
Bangladesh will convey its commitment and apprise Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of the steps to be taken to address these issues during his two-day visit beginning today.
Abe's visit follows Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's tour to Japan in May last.
In a joint statement during the visit, Hasina urged Japanese entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh and Abe made a positive response to this.
Last month, an investment promotion mission from Japan held several marathon meetings with the officials of Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Bangladesh Bank (BB) and other authorities concerned to discuss ways to remove the obstacles.
And on Thursday, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told reporters at his ministry that Dhaka expects Tokyo would invest in garments, pharmaceuticals and various other sectors.
In a proposal submitted to the government last month, the Japanese investment promotion body asked Bangladesh to bring all the agencies, which deal with foreign investors, under the umbrella of the Board of Investment (Bol) so that they can start business quickly without facing any hassle.
They strongly requested that the Bol be given the authority to grant the major
permissions - such as trading, import, bond and factory licences; environmental clearance; TIN and VAT registrations; certificates for fire safety and tax exemption - that are required for setting up a business.
The investors described foreign garment manufacturers' current incapacity to obtain the utilisation of declaration (UD) certificate as a major hurdle to investing in textile and garments industry. The certificate is currently issued only by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
They have also urged the government to address the difficulties expatriate staffs face in obtaining work permit in eight sectors, including logistics and service fields.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh plans to allocate 500 acres of land for a special economic zone for Japanese investors. Besides, 40 plots and two factory buildings have already been designated for them in the existing five Export Processing Zones (EPZs).
The Japanese, however, initially want at least 300 acres. But they said another 250-500 acres may be required for future expansion. The land has to be free from floods and within one and a half hours' drive from Dhaka city. And the price of the land should be at par with that in other Asian countries, according to the proposal.
Dhaka is planning to set up the exclusive economic zone at Mirsarai in Chittagong.
Apart from these, the investors' mission cited various concerns related to banking, customs and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
BB Governor Atiur Rahman on Thursday told The Daily Star that the banking-related problems had already been solved and the PMO was working to address the other issues.
The Japanese mission also offered a credit programme with an interest rate slightly higher than the rate on their official loans which is only 0.1 percent.
This credit will be used for providing loan facilities to local entrepreneurs entering into joint ventures with Japanese investors, and for infrastruc-
ture development of the special economic zone to be designated for Japan.
Direct investment from Japan in Bangladesh is very low. In 2013, the inflow was only $100 million, though three times higher than the previous year that saw around $30 million in investment.
The Japan government too has indicated that it would provide loans and this has been discussed between the officials of Economic Relations Division and the investment promotion mission from Japan, according to finance ministry sources.
Though the loan amount has not been disclosed yet, they expect it to be between $300 million and $500 million.
Nikkei Asian Review, a leading Japanese newspaper, in a report on August 26 said Japan will give 40 billion yen, equivalent to $361 million, to develop the exclusive economic zone. And a' 15 billion yen fund will be set up by the next fiscal year... Tokyo will help with infrastructure construction [of the economic zone) and corporate financing as well."