Japan promotes energy-saving devices in Bangladesh

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The Japan International Cooperation Agency encourages greater use of energy-saving equipment in Bangladesh through a low-interest loan programme, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. 

The English-language weekly magazine of Japan said on Friday in a report that the programme allows Bangladeshi companies that buy specified equipment, such as textile machinery, to get low-interest loans at around 4 per cent compared to market rates of 9-15 per cent.
February saw three deals. About 10 other deals are also under discussion. Orders worth more than 5 billion yen ($47.1 million) are expected for the final tally.
The Japanese development aid agency helped the Bangladeshi government set up around 10 billion yen in government financing last year.
Bangladeshi companies have recently decided to buy spinning machines from Toyota Industries, similar devices from Murata Machinery and some 3,000 sewing machines from Juki, according to the agency. These purchases total roughly 1.1 billion yen, the report added.
Bangladesh is making a shift to energy-saving devices for two reasons. The first is that imports of fossil fuels like natural gas are rising as the economy grows. The other is that competition with Vietnam and India -- rival low-cost textile exporters -- is intensifying. Bangladesh seeks to maintain industrial competitiveness by reducing energy consumption.
Bangladesh's textile exports come to $28 billion a year, accounting for roughly 80 per cent of the country's total.