[ APRIL FOOLS ?.]

What they do in Bangladesh,they are not interested in doing the same in India.The reaction to our democratic political decisions for industries of other countries to set up their company's in INDIA

Koreans, Japanese train local talents to be competitive Jasim Uddin Khan Considering the cost effectiveness of Bangladesh technicians, some major foreign investors, especially the Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese who plan to expand their business here, are now increasingly hiring local workers and equipping them with advanced training and technical know-how. They do not prefer to bring foreign technicians here as wages of the Chinese, Korean and other countries have recently increased manifold. Bepza (Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority) sources say during the last couple of months Japanese textile giant Toray Group hired 60 workers from outside the EPZs to their Malaysian textile unit to impart them advanced training. The number of workers hired by Paolo Footwear, a Korean shoe maker, from its Karnaphuli EPZ for this purpose is 40. Besides, Trimax, a Taiwanese company who is planning to invest in Bangladesh furniture sector, is now continuing its talks with the government to hire at least around 100 workers from outside the EPZs for an advanced training in Taiwan. “We got people at a cost less than one fifth of that in Malaysia. So the calculation is very easy. Cheap labour will definitely help reduce our management and production cost. These trained people will see the highly technical sides of our factory and some of them will also oversee the management operation,” said Wang, executive director, Toray Group, Malaysia. He pointed to the fact that previously Japanese experts were hired, but now their expertise is very expensive. Different foreign entrepreneurs who already invested at EPZs have imparted 700 workers training abroad. Bepza Chairman Brigadier General Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf also admitted the cost effectiveness of Bangladesh expertise. “Many potential investors are keen to impart advanced training to workers and employ them in their units in EPZs in future,” said AZM Azizur Rahman, general manager (Investment Promotion) at Bepza. "As Malaysian labour is expensive, some companies from that country will be relocating their factories in a low-cost country like Bangladesh," he added. The official pointed out that such investment plan reflects Bangladesh's competitiveness in the textile industry, driven mainly by cheap labour. "The country's EPZs are increasingly becoming attractive locations in Asia for multinationals that want to invest in manufacturing sector, notably in the apparel and textiles," he maintained. He said the process helps investors as well as Bangladesh in terms of technology transfer. Japanese textile titan, Toray Group, will pour around US$ 200 million into Bangladesh's textile sector, seeing the country's cheap labour and a potential huge apparel market. Initially, the Tokyo-based corporation, known as the world's largest textile producer, already invested $90 million last year at the newly-developed Adamjee Export Processing Zone, according to Bepza sources. As part of its investment plan, Toray will also relocate its Malaysia-based subsidiary, Pan Fabric Toray, in Bangladesh, the sources added. SOURCE: http://www.thedailystar.net