A major Japanese freight forwarding and supply chain company, Kintetsu World Express, Inc, has started it's operations in Bangladesh.
Japanese ambassador in Dhaka Iwama Kiminori was present at the inaugural event of the company on Tuesday.
It is a subsidiary of the Japanese railway holding company Kintetsu Group Holdings and provides air and sea freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and warehouse inventory management services.
Founded in 1970, the company has its presence in 45 countries, 304 cities and 687 locations worldwide with approximately 18000 plus employees.
It is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
The company’s growth strategy is to expand organically and geographically to support its global and regional customers.
With this aim, KWE have registered its legal entity Kintetsu World Express (Bangladesh) Ltd in January 2022 with its registered office is in Gulshan, Dhaka and an operational office in Chottogram.
Earlier, it operated it's business through exclusive agency arrangement.
"Our GOAL was always to bring our direct presence in Bangladesh according to the statutory regulations in the Country," according to a statement signed by its adviser Masud Karim.
A number of Western and Japanese apparel manufacturers have already established operations in Bangladesh, and further growth in transport demand is expected in the future due to the growth of consumer markets, changes in supply chains and diversification of industrial structures within Asia.
Japan’s involvement and contribution to Bangladesh dates back to pre-independence. The support continues with its foreign investment, infrastructure development and transfer of technology in various fields and forms.
"We as KWE wish to take bigger part and contribute to the growth and development in ways we do best. Our company is built upon a value system that covers all facets of business ethics, environmental sustainability, equal employment opportunities.
"We will focus on international transportation initially and gradually work to build our capabilities for the domestic market."
KWE and its group companies are very strong in retail, automotive, healthcare, hi-tech verticals and ranks among the top 15 companies globally in sea and air mode of transportation.
"Our endeavour is to actively participate in the industry initiatives in Bangladesh and spread our core values, as we aim to maintain high quality service and build the customer experience."
The KWE Group is committed to providing flexible services and expanding its network throughout Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, to meet the needs of our customers. We believe that Kintetsu World Express, Inc can play a vital role in Bangladesh's import and export sector, the company said.