57% of Japanese firms eye expansion in Bangladesh within two years: Survey

Some 56.9% of Japanese firms have made their plan to expand their businesses in Bangladesh within the next one to two years, underscoring strong investor confidence, according to a survey.

Jetro’s Country Representative Kazuiki Kataoka unveiled the survey titled “Business Conditions Survey 2025” at Westin in the capital on Monday (30 March).

The survey period ranged from 19 August to 17 September, 2025.

Japan Business Day titled the commemorative event for EPA agreement with Bangladesh was organised by Embassy of Japan in Dhaka and Jetro supported by JCIAD and JBCCI on the day at the hotel.

In morning session on the day, Ambassador of Japan in Dhaka Shinichi Saida and its Head of economic section Yutaro Mochida,JBCCI president Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan Jun spoke there while Deputy Director General (ambassador), the ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Izuru Kobayashi also spoke the event virtually.

According to the survey, a lot of Japanese firms doing business in Bangladesh are expecting to post operating profits in 2026,due to rebounding business confidence after national election, strong domestic demand and cost competitiveness.

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The primary driver of expansion is raising local market demand, cited by 66.7% of respondents. Firms also pointed to improved competitiveness and growing acceptance of their products and services, it mentioned.

The survey also stated that expansion plans vary across sectors. While 62.2% of firms in non-manufacturing sectors intend to expand, compared with 47.6% in manufacturing, Bangladesh continues to attract interest as a production base.

Around 350 Japanese companies are currently operating in Bangladesh, and the number is gradually increasing.

Data from Bangladesh Bank and the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) show that bilateral trade between the two countries stood at US$3.12 billion in 2023-24 fiscal year.

The EPA was signed on 6 February, 2026 between Bangladesh and Japan in order to boost bilateral trade and investment.