Exporters of readymade garments (RMG) in Bangladesh have come under extra pressure, with buyers’ compliance requirements increasing by the day. A 2013 accord on safety and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, founded by a group of apparel companies and retailers, have been, in particular, responsible for such a situation. Besides, production cost has also increased because expenditure on fire-safety, electrical and structural items have become extremely high owing to additional value-added tax (VAT). If the buyers’ demands continue to grow, RMG traders would not be able to meet the export target of $50 billion by 2021. Business leaders from all sectors came up with the observations during a view exchange meeting on “Current situation of RMG sector and the way forward” in the capital yesterday. Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) had jointly organised the event. The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh was signed on May 15, 2013. It is a five-year legally binding agreement between global brands and retailers and trade unions and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety to improve safety in RMG factories in the country. The accord was the handiwork of a group of North American apparel companies and retailers and brands who have joined together to develop and launch the Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative. Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, former president of BGMEA, said “We might fail to reach our target to export $50 billion by 2021 as the buyers are not willing to listen to us on anything except the report of Accord and Alliance. Besides, welfare and participatory fund issues would be major obstacles to reach the goal.” Parvez added: “We have improved a lot with regard to working conditions, safety issues and enacting relevant laws as per the buyers’ requirements. But the demands of the buyers are increasing cumulatively and they are adding more in their requirement list.” Abdus Salam Murshedy, former president of BGMEA, said that no such accord and alliance existed in any other country though many incidents had taken place there at different times. “We agreed on the accord and are trying to fulfil all the requirements. But there is no end to their demands and it has been increasing and no coordination between accord and alliance” he alleged. Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, former president of BGMEA, said, “We are under pressure from national and international bodies as we are facing political violence and buyer’s surplus demand which are the major obstacles in the RMG sector.” AH Aslam Sunny, acting president of BKMEA, said the economy and business was being severely affected because of political impasses. He said fire clocks and other equipment were expensive, making it tough for businessmen to fulfil the requirement of accord and alliance. He requested BGMEA president to talk with NBR to exempt these accessories from VAT. BGMEA president Md Atiqul Islam said, “Accord and Alliance, National Action Plan and double digit vat are the major challenges for exporters. Also, we need same plan for small, medium and large factories in case of bank loan.” Talking about the initiatives that have been taken by the garments owners of the country, he said, “All the database of 2,100 factories is available in the website. There is no other country with such a transparent database.” Mentioning the problem of the Accord and Alliance, the BGMEA chief said it was not a level playing field as the requirements were imposed only on Bangladesh. The buyers should implement the same law for other countries or else we will lag behind our competitors.
Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=254691:rmg-exporters-rue-extra-pressure-from-buyers&catid=110:business-others&Itemid=156

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said the international factoring system removes the danger of open account trade under two-factor system very easily, regardless whether an exporter is a small or large organisation, reports UNB. The Minister said this while addressing a seminar on ‘International Factoring for Foreign Trade’, jointly organised by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh, Factors Chain International (FCI), Netherlands; the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM). Factoring is a type of debtor-financing which is a better alternative to L/C for the ease of access it provides to short-term finance. Factoring allows a business house to sell its invoice to a third-party, called a factor, at a discount to meet its immediate cash requirements. Tofail Ahmed said under this international financing mechanism, the exporter gains finance immediately after submitting the relevant documents to the export factor and the import factor/bank collects money with 100 per cent protection at the end of the approved period from the importers of the same country in the locally accepted manner. ICC Bangladesh president Mahbubur Rahman said involvement of many banks increases the cost of international trade and creates barriers in different steps of operation. Moreover, Letter of Credit (L/C) confirmation fees takes away a substantial amount of foreign currency abroad and increases the cost of international trade. Importers are no more interested to import by opening L/C. To fulfill the demand of the importers for credit terms, our exporters need to export under international factoring which is also as secured as L/C, he added. The seminar informed that factoring in Bangladesh has been very limited, whereas factoring in most other regions of the world, even within South Asia, has exploded with the shift towards open account trade.
Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=254693:factoring-can-open-new-avenues-in-trade-finance&catid=110:business-others&Itemid=156

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) found in its global survey covering 122 banks in 59 countries titled ‘Rethinking Trade Finance 2009’ that market momentum shifts towards open account terms and importers of North America, Europe and Asia clearly move from Letter of Credit (L/C) to open account settlement. Most source documents available today indicate that the percentage of open account transaction is usually around 80 per cent of world trade. Bangladesh is not an exception. Review of trade service operation of banks conducted in 2014 by Habib et al. in BIBM (Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management) shows that 84 per cent of import payments from the country were made through L/C in 2013. This figure was about 98 per cent in 2011. On the other hand, the same survey shows that L/C payment method was used in case of 49 per cent of the total export receipts in 2013. This was 60 per cent in 2011. It indicates that use of L/C in both export and import is being decreased very sharply and this downward trend is overly high in case of export from Bangladesh. Particularly, it is important to note that non-L/C trade is being increasingly used for our major export items namely RMG (ready-made garment), jute goods and leather. However, open account trade means that payment is received many weeks or even months after delivery. Unsurprisingly, exporters find that open account terms may create cash flow and default risk problems. On the other hand, banks also face certain challenges in financing open account transactions as under this system no bank offers guarantee of payment in case of failure of importer to pay. International factoring provides a simple solution to problems faced in case of open account trade regardless of whether the exporter is a small organisation or a major corporation. Mechanism of international factoring involves a five/six-stage operation, if it is carried out by members of FCI. It is noted that if any bank wants to offer international factoring, it needs to get membership either from Factoring Chain International (FCI) or the International Factoring Group (IFG). These groups regulate the international factoring activity of their member banks/factors. Mechanism followed here is as follows:

* The exporter signs a factoring contract assigning all agreed receivables to an export factor/bank. The factor then becomes responsible for all aspects of the factoring operation.

* The export factor/bank chooses an FCI correspondent to serve as an import factor/bank in the country where goods are to be shipped. The receivables are then assigned to the import factor.

* At the same time, the import factor investigates the credit standing of the buyer of the exporter’s goods and establishes lines of credit. This allows the buyer to place an order on open account terms without opening letters of credit. Consent of import factor/bank for establishing line of credit means certainty of paying 100 per cent of invoice to export factor/bank in case of importer’s inability to pay.

* Once the goods have been shipped, the export factor/bank advances up to 80 per cent of the invoice value to the exporter against documents.

* The import factor collects the full invoice value at maturity and is responsible for the swift transmission of funds to the export factor/bank who then pays the exporter the outstanding balance.

* If after 90 days past due date an approved invoice remains unpaid, the import factor will pay 100 per cent of the invoice value under guarantee.

The mechanism placed above indicates the simplicity of international factoring in conducting international trade compared to L/C. Additionally for opening L/C, importers have to provide required margin and sufficient security to their banks in order to confirm L/Cs. Even for a successful importer, there comes a time when the growing requirements for L/C margin goes beyond the importer’s financing ability and L/C coverage exceeds the security available to give to the bank. Moreover, importers need to approach banks for issuing L/Cs on each occasion of importing goods from abroad, which is really time-consuming. In L/C operation procedures, several banks, namely issuing bank, collecting bank, negotiating bank, presenting bank and confirming bank are involved. Involvement of many banks increases the cost of international trade and creates barriers in different steps of operation. Moreover, L/C confirmation fees take away a substantial amount of foreign currency abroad and increase the cost of international trade. Importers at home and abroad are therefore no more interested to import by opening L/C. International factoring is now a global industry with a vast turnover and is universally accepted as vital to the financial needs of all types of business. International factoring has become well-established in developing countries as well as in those that are highly industrialised. The total amount of international factoring conducted by FCI members in nearly 70 countries stood at 213.22 billion euros in 2012 whereas the amount of total factoring accounted for 2.1 trillion euros at the same time. A clear picture is available in the following table.
It is revealed that Asian region shows highest growth among all the continents although it stands only behind European region with respect to total volume. Export and economic growth always maintain a robust positive relationship irrespective of the size of economy. As a result, Bangladesh Government always makes it a top priority to improve the conditions that directly affect the ability of exporters to export. In this process, reaching new importers as well as unexplored market is important. In entering new competitive market, offering attractive credit terms are being used increasingly in addition to ensuring quality and fixing rational price of the products. As international factoring ensures offering attractive credit terms to the importers, Bangladesh may go forward to launch this product. However, many issues are likely to be encountered while launching this service. These issues are primarily related to the legal, strategic and organisational aspects. Moreover, a policy guideline is also necessary for procedures of client management, dispute handling and prevention, invoice processing and documentation, assignment of the export invoice, costing and pricing, approval and monitoring and activities of factor banks/financial institutions. These issues should be looked into thoroughly before launching this service. Dr. Prashanta Kumar Banerjee is Professor & Director (Research, Development & Consultancy), Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM).

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/13/88614

Apparel producers came down heavily on Accord and Alliance for imposing what they called ‘increasing’ and ‘harsh’ conditions in the name of workplace safety in factories. Terming their demands ‘illogical’, they said factory owners are finding it difficult to meet their ever-increasing demands for work place safety and security.  Accord and Alliance are two platforms by buyers from the European Union (EU) and North American countries working in Bangladesh to establish labour rights and promote work place safety in the ready-made garment sector. “Conditions of safety by Accord and Alliance continue to grow, throwing us into a difficult situation,” president of Exporter Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy said while speaking at an exchange of meeting in the city held Sunday. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) jointly organised the gathering. “There is no coordination between Accord and Alliance themselves, resulting in harassment on the part of local factories,” Mr Murshedy, also former BGMEA president alleged and called upon the existing office bears of the apex garments trade body to face such organisations ‘tactfully’. Echoing the same, BGMEA president Md. Atiqul Islam said meeting the demands of Accord and Alliance has become a big challenge for local factories and those don’t ensure a level playing field for industry. “Accord and Alliance are imposing such conditions only for the Bangladeshi companies. Nowhere else in the world, this kind of platform exists,” Mr Islam said, urging the foreign buyers to form such bodies in other countries too, to ensure a level-playing field globally. He said almost all garment factories are compliant with the safety standards set by Accord and Alliance. “We’ve an integrated website of 2,100 factories, where ins and outs of the member factories are available transparently,” the industry leader noted.    Describing the paucity of energy supply as another challenge, the BGMEA chief said some of the association members couldn’t even shift their factories outside the capital as gas connection isn’t available. The leader also demanded special allocation and facilities for apparel and textiles industries in the upcoming national budget so that they could recover the loss stemming from restive politics. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, mayoral candidate of Dhaka North City Corporation Annisul Huq, among others, addressed the function. While the programme was an exchange of views meeting, it virtually turned into an election campaign, where representatives of the trade bodies extended their support to the mayoral aspirant Huq, who was former heads of both the FBCCI and BGMEA.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/13/88673

Country’s apparel-sector operators have become jittery fearing substantial drop in winter orders from key export destinations. The pared-down production activity during three months of political turbulence has already taken a toll on them. Industry-insiders foresee an oncoming crunch as manufacturers are being compelled to cut jobs and run wheels of production much below their capacity. Top ready-made garment (RMG) executives say they see not so sunny picture of the trade in the next peak season as the buyers are not placing expected orders even for the fall, let alone the winter. They feel the global business partners are losing their confidence in the Bangladesh RMG sector. And this unmerited credibility gap is taking a toll by way of negative impacts on the key export industry. For a prolonged blockade — accompanied by frequent strikes, shutdowns and political violence — for last three months, the apparel export orders, particularly for winter season, have dropped 35 per cent, according to the apex trade body in the sector. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) research cell claimed that, during the time, more than 100 global buyers and their representatives had cancelled their business trips to the blockade-bound country.  Such cancellation of visits was resulting in the decline in placement of fresh work orders by the global brands and retailing chains. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics show apparel exports having grown only over 3.18 per cent on average during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-15. This amply proves a slump from a 14 per cent growth during the corresponding period of last FY. “Fresh export order of readymade garments (RMG) for winter season got reduced drastically this year due to the ongoing countrywide blockade and hartals,” AK Azad, Managing Director of Apparel Gallery Ltd, a sister concern of Ha-Meem Group, told the FE. The leading clothing manufacturer and exporter forewarned that following the decline in work orders for the winter season the sector from the potential export destinations like the USA and the EU countries over the next six or seven months would hurt the sector seriously. Mr Azad, also former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said they have observed a number of global buyers doing business here for long are now diverting their fresh orders to several other countries, including India, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. For absence of political stability, he noted, the local entrepreneurs are losing their competitiveness and Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan are becoming a new threat for the local RMG sector. Engineer Md Atiqur Rahman, chairman of Amotex Ltd, a sister concern of Standard Group — another leading RMG manufacturer and exporter–also had seen their fresh orders having fallen drastically in the last three months. The businessman noted that for giving fresh work order the global business partners primarily demand peaceful political environment but, in recent times, the situation had been very turbulent. “For shortage of fresh working order we could not utilize our hundred-percent working capacity,” Mr Rahman said. He said January-March is a peak time for getting winter-season work order but the exporters could not get to their goals in export trade. The leading global buyers who used to place orders on different occasions also cancelled their work orders “on a big scale”. He said, “On average we get orders for 100,000 pieces, or more, from the global business partners. But that has now dropped to 40,000 to 50,000 pieces.” Md Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of BGMEA, said due to shortage of work order many of employees were passing idle time at the factories. He mentioned that the apparel sector has been playing a vital role in creating new job opportunities but in recent times recruitment has almost come to a halt. Mr Azim said the entrepreneurs are facing challenges as new export orders have fallen drastically in last three months following the political instability. “We have a goal to reach $50 billion worth of RMG exports by the year 2021. For archiving the target the sector needs more than 18 per cent growth of export, but in last July-March the sector grew only over 3.18 per cent,” the leader of the apex trade body said.   Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), said export order fall is not a good sign for the country’s economy. “If the export order dropped, the domestic industries had surely been affected,” the economist noted. And it will cause negative growth of the country’s RMG products, he said.

Source:

https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/13/88672

Bangladesh denim producers are gradually turning into design innovators, bringing a new dimension to the denim industry to attract global buyers. The once buyer-driven denim industry now witnesses the manufacturers’ innovations and new designs of denim, paving the way for a careful choice by the retailers. “About 90% denim work in Bangladesh was driven by the global buyers, who made designs through research and development, but the recent trend has changed. The manufacturers now offer their designs to the buyers,” AKM Aminul Islam, managing director of Mahmud Denim, told the Dhaka Tribune. Innovation from producers’ end helps global buyers reduce cost as the latter need not invest in research and development, Aminul said, adding that the new concept in business helps them attract buyers through presenting new products. Now, the factory owners are making investment in research and development as they have been able to understand that their investment will be fruitful, he adds. Of the $24.49bn RMG export, denim contributes to around $6bn, which is expected to stand at $13bn in next five years, according to the sector, Bangladesh can meet 45%-50% demand of denim locally while 50% are met through import. Denim is everybody’s garment. This universal fashion trend is a unique matter for progress. Whether it is recession or not, denim is used by all. The use of denim is on the rise worldwide and that is why its growth in Bangladesh would be 300% in next 10 years while the world growth would be between 8% and 10%. Bangladesh’s strength is its large population, skilled and disciplined workforce, 35 years of experience, said the sector people. Though the sector marched to a new height there are still some challenges. The main challenges are building confidence in the global buyers that the denim sector can face challenges and overcome with success, workers efficiency, ensuring political stability, they added. The shift of orders from China and the rise in production cost in competitors’ countries will help Bangladesh boost the denim industry to grab more market share, said Mostafiz Uddin, managing director and CEO of Denim Expert Limited. The global denim market will cross $65 billion in the next four to five years, he said. By 2020, every four of five denim products in Europe would be sourced from Bangladesh, Mostafiz hoped. A two-day Bangladesh Denim Expo will be held from May 11 at Dhaka to attract the global buyers through display of new fashion trends and products. The expo aims at fetching $7bn by exporting denim products, which would help the RMG sector to achieve $50bn export target by 2021. “Bangladesh has already become a very large supplier of jeans to the global market, but we are not making premium denim. What we need is better fabric and investment in more sophisticated washing,” Ranjan Mahtani, chairman of EPIC Group told the Dhaka Tribune. It is high time Bangladesh grabbed global market shares, and what is right now needed for the country is create sophisticated denim, building buyers’ confidence and more investment, said Ranjan. A premium jean is an artistry which is not a kind of mass production, the EPIC Group chairman said, adding that you need to have that right artistry as it can transform the jeans sector to a premium souring destination. If there are more engineering, more efficiency and more sophistication, there is a tremendous room to grow, he observed. “As production cost is rising in our competitors’ country, Bangladesh would be more important as source destination for jeans and denim. We are becoming costlier but not as much as the other countries, Ranjan added. The industry came into being with the initiative of army officials, professors or retired officers, who had little experience at the begining, but now the second generation is dealing with the business with expertise and innovation, said the businessman. Bangladesh has become a platform for denim sourcing as global denim buyers have identified the country as denim producer, said Showkat Aziz (Russell), managing director of Amber Denim. “Denim integration has been established here and what we need is convince the buyers and capture orders,” he added. Currently, there are 27 denim factories in the country in the RMG sector with an investment of $900m while about 10 factories are poised to come into operation soon. Local denim factories produce around 30 million yards of fabrics a month, meeting half of the local consumption. Among the global players in the $60 billion denim market, Bangladesh lags behind China, the US, Italy and some Latin American countries.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/apr/12/denim-industry-gets-new-economic-dimension#sthash.WDBSJh14.dpuf

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to different international markets have been experiencing slower growth than the competitors including Vietnam, India and Pakistan, putting further stain on the competitive edge of country’s highest export-earning sector. RMG export to US, the largest importer of Bangladeshi apparel products, is also showing a declined trend compared to the last fiscal. Bangladesh’s apparel export posted a 2.38 percent growth during the July-December period of the current fiscal over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data. Vietnamese RMG export grew by 4.47 percent while India and Pakistan have seen 10 and 20 percent growth in their apparel exports respectively during the same period, according to the export data of Vietnam, India and Pakistan. Vietnam’s income from RMG exports, however, saw a negative growth from 18.17 percent in July to 4.47 percent in December of the current fiscal. India also maintained a fluctuating growth in income from RMG export during the same period. Pakistan, however, maintained an upward trend in RMG export from a 1.48 percent negative growth in July to 20 percent growth in December. Bangladesh is the world’s second largest RMG exporters after China. Bangladesh’s market share in the global RMG market is 5 percent with China holding 30 percent of the global apparel market. Bangladesh’s major competitors include India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Cambodia—those are striving to grab more stakes in the international market. Bangladesh’s RMG export to the US market has been experiencing downward trend. EPB data show that during the June-January period of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh’s RMG export to the US was 3.58 percent lower compared to the same period last fiscal. In addition, the Trans Pacific Partnership which will enable Vietnam to get Duty Free Quota Free access in USA and Philippine’s GSP plus facilities to the EU market have brought in new challenges for Bangladesh’s readymade garment sector. Calling upon the government to take initiatives so that the Bangladeshi exporters get to enjoy more export facilities, BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said there is no alternative to development of proper infrastructure to enhance the competitive advantage of Bangladesh’s garment sector. He also called upon all concerned to put an end to the ongoing political instability, which is severely affecting production and export in the RMG sector.

Source: https://www.daily-sun.com/print/back-page/2015/03/07/491309#sthash.jmh7Cb43.dpuf

The government-led and the International Labour Organisation-sponsored readymade garment factory inspection programme is unlikely to be completed by April 30 deadline due to non-cooperation of some factory owners and inconsistency in information including factory locations and contact numbers. As per the announcement of the ILO, the inspection of the readymade garment factories under National Tripartite Plan of Action was supposed to end by April 30. According to officials concerned, the ILO has so far inspected 850 garment factories with 500 units still remaining as inspection teams failed to reach the units due to incorrect contact details. ILO officials on Wednesday held a meeting with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and sought intervention from the trade body so that factory owners give schedule for inspections. In the meeting the ILO officials said that it would not be possible to complete the inspections within April 30 as their inspection teams failed to reach more than five hundred factories due to incorrect information and unwillingness of factory owners. An official of the ILO on Saturday told New Age that the three initiatives — Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the government-ILO­ –– set targets to complete inspections in 3,508 export-oriented garment factories but the number was fluctuating. Although the Alliance, the North American retailers group, and Accord, the platform of EU buyers, have completed its initial inspections, the ILO has been facing some problems like inconsistency in information including factory locations and contact numbers and non-cooperation of the owners, he said. Under the circumstances, the ILO is now considering to set a deferred deadline on June 30 to complete the inspections, the officials said. Recently, the ILO informed the government that they found incorrect contact information of 666 factories on the list provided by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association. It also alleged that the authorities of at least 62 factories on the list were not cooperating in conducting safety inspections in the units. A BGMEA official said following an intervention from the trade body out of 62, more than 20 factories have already conducted safety inspections in their units. ‘Now we are working on the list of the factories that provided incorrect contact information and we hope that most of the factories will come under the inspection within a short time,’ he said. After the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, in April 2013, the EU retailers formed Accord while the North American retailers formed Alliance and both the initiatives launched inspection programmes in the RMG factories from where their members procure products. The government in association with the ILO announced a separate inspection programme for rest of the garment factories which were not on the lists of Alliance and Accord and were mainly engaged in subcontracting. The Accord and Alliance completed their primary safety assessments in their listed factories over 1,900 in number.

Source: https://newagebd.net/110964/complete-govt-ilo-factory-inspections-unlikely-by-apr-30/#sthash.2CJI2fBA.dpuf

Seeking more Japanese investment, prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said her government will ensure all facilities for the investment by Japanese entrepreneurs. “We need more investment from Japan …we’re ready to provide all sorts of facilities for the smooth investment by Japanese entrepreneurs,” she said, reports UNB. The prime minister said this when outgoing Japanese ambassador in Dhaka Shiro Sadoshima met her at her official residence Ganabhaban. She also sought more financial assistance from Japan for the overall development of the country. PM’s press secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhuri briefed reporters after the meeting. The prime minister hoped that Bangladesh would get more assistance from Japan to attain its economic goal and it will be able to reach its development goal with that assistance. Sheikh Hasina said her government has allotted two economic zones for the Japanese investors and wants the Japanese investors to avail of the opportunity. She thanked the ambassador for his all-out cooperation and active role in strengthening the bilateral cooperation between the two countries saying that the ties between Dhaka and Tokyo reached a new height during his tenure. The prime minister also praised her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe’s leadership and thanked him for his continued support to Bangladesh, mentioning that Japan is the trusted friend of Bangladesh and a largest development partner. She thanked the Japanese government and its people. The outgoing Japanese envoy also thanked the prime minister and her government for their all-out support during his stay in Bangladesh, and lauded the dynamic and strategic leadership of Sheikh Hasina that helped Bangladesh attain its present development status. Mr Sadoshima said he is impressed observing closely Sheikh Hasina’s praiseworthy leadership and the way she solved many problems in the country. The envoy expressed his strong optimism that Bangladesh would certainly achieve its desired goal under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. About the potentials of Japanese market for Bangladeshi products, he said Bangladesh could largely expand its market there for mutual benefits. While talking about Japanese businessmen in Bangladesh, Mr Sadoshima said the Japanese traders are happy as they are getting all kinds of cooperation from the government of Bangladesh in doing business. PM’s adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi and principal secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad were present.