Bangladesh is top destination for business expansion by Japanese companies in the next one or two years. The country gets the top position among Asian and Oceania regions despite problems in quality control, deregulation and securing labor force. The main reason why Japanese firms are willing to expand their business in Bangladesh is low production cost. Bangladesh provides the lowest wage to manufacturing workers among 19 countries surveyed.

Next to Bangladesh, Japanese firms want expansion in India, Myanmar and in Vietnam in that order. For Bangladesh out of total export earnings from Japan in the last fiscal, 74.8 per cent was from readymade garment sector. And apparel exports to Japan have seen a 13.73 per cent rise. Meanwhile, Japan has shown a keen interest in hiring skilled labor from Bangladesh for its textile industry. Since the garment sector is growing fast in Bangladesh, foreign investors choose it as an investment destination. Ready workforce at a reasonable wage, duty-free market access to major export destination, preferential location in the heart of the Asia-Pacific region and policy support are catalysts attracting foreign investment in the textile and apparel industry.