Japanese logistics company to start Bangladesh operations

A truck of Yusen Logistics is pictured. The logistic giant formed a joint venture company with another Japanese shipping company, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), for Bangladesh. Photo: Yusen Logistics

A new Japanese logistic service provider -- Yusen Logistics Bangladesh Ltd -- is set to start operations in the country in mid-October.
The company is a joint venture initiative of Japanese logistics giant Yusen Logistics Co and a leading Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line).
The Bangladesh unit of Yusen aims to accomplish the work related to transportation and storage of exportable and imported goods of the country, said Rashed Ahmad Ali, managing director of the company.
The Dhaka-based company has an initial paid-up capital of Tk 1 crore that will be increased up to Tk 10 crore in the next couple of years, Ali said.
The country exported goods worth $21.71 billion and settled import payments to the tune of $29.67 billion during the July-May period of last fiscal year, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
Both exports and imports registered an over 7 percent growth in the period from the same period of last year, according to the central bank data.
Local and international logistic service providers now flock to Bangladesh to grab the growing export and import business here.
Yusen Logistics established the joint venture company on July 2 where Yusen owns 51 percent shares and 49 percent by NYK Line, Ali said.
Earlier, NYK Line Bangladesh was the agent of the Japanese international freight forwarder Yusen Logistics Co Ltd in the country.
Yusen Logistics positions Bangladesh as an important strategic market in its mid-term business plan, Go Forward, thanks to the presence of cheap labour, high economic growth and Bangladesh's strategic location between India and China, said the official.
“We will provide tailor-made services to the export and import-oriented organisations of the country.”
The joint venture company primarily targets to serve the Japanese companies in Bangladesh, said Ali, who is also the president of Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI).
He said his company will offer the entire logistic services relating to in-bound and out-bound activities of goods.
Yusen Logistics Bangladesh will be able to serve the country's export- and import-oriented organisations with all logistics services, as it has integrated all key activities such as transporting, custom brokering, packaging and shipping under one umbrella, he said.
It will help its client organisations get relief from the hassles of handling shipping and logistics activities, he said.
Initially, the company will open offices in Dhaka and Chittagong with plans to set up warehouses at the country's different strategic points, including Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla port and export processing zones, in the next couple of years.
On average, the two ports of the country handle around 10 lakh TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers every year.
He said the annual market size of the total transportation business, including logistic services, is estimated at $2 billion in the country.
Yusen Logistics group, Japan's largest international freight forwarder, has a global network of operational bases spanning 37 countries and has warehouses spanning a total of 1.87 million square metres worldwide as of March 31, according to the group website.
The Tokyo-based company is the logistical arm of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Japan's largest shipping firm by sales.
Nippon Express Co, another Japan-based logistic giant, started operation in Bangladesh on April 17 this year.