'Bangladesh has the virtually all complicated LC opening conditions'

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Says Hideaki Kojima, the neighborhood representative of Mitsubishi UFG Bank, Japan's largest lender

The laboured process for settlement of letters of credit is probably the bottlenecks of Bangladesh’s investment climate, said a delegation from Japan on Thursday.

“Bangladesh has the most complicated LC opening conditions -- there are conditions and conditions unique and then this country,” said Hideaki Kojima, managing director and chief representative of Mitsubishi UFG Bank, Japan's largest lender.
 
Kojima’s comment came at a roundtable styled Japan-Bangladesh trade and organization growth and the purpose of private sector banking institutions organised by Eastern Lender, which was attended by Ito Naoki, Japan’s ambassador to Bangladesh, and delegates from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) and the Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Sector (JBCCI).

Simplification in LC opening conditions is vital for business expansion, Kojima said, even though advising Bangladesh to introduce telegraphic transfer remittance settlement to join global or regional source chain. 

A telegraphic transfer is an electronic approach to transferring funds utilised generally for overseas cable transactions. Commonly, the telegraphic transfer is usually full within two to four business days, depending on the foundation and vacation spot of the transfer, in addition to any currency exchange requirements.

“Improvement in LC settlement will greatly improve the investment climate of Bangladesh,” said Yuji Ando, region representative of JETRO. 

The conditions and conditions of LC ought to be even more simplified for business growth in Bangladesh, said Ando, also the president of JBCCI.

Japanese companies are wanting to invest on Bangladesh however the bottlenecks are holding them returning, Naoki said.

“To attract Japanese corporations to invest extra in Bangladesh it is important to address the prevailing issues of the firms operating in Bangladesh.” 

There are 315 Japanese companies presently operating in Bangladesh, 70 % of which are prepared to increase their investment, according to a Jetro survey. The firms have so far poured in about $3 billion in Bangladesh.

“If that can be addressed you will have a greater flow of Japanese investment,” he said, adding a favourable business environment is imperative.

In 2019, Japanese investment in Bangladesh soared 160 % year-on-year to $72.9 million.

Over the past half a year, a number of the bottlenecks have already been removed, but there are still issues that have to be addressed on an urgent basis, Naoki added.

Ali Reza Iftekhar, MD and ceo of EBL and also the chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh, a platform of banking institutions’ MDs, assured of looking into issues slowing down Bangladesh’s business development and resolving those. 

Yuho Hayakawa, nation representative of JICA, and Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan, secretary-general of JBCCI as well spoke.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com

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