Entrepreneurs in the country are now investing in new sectors where sophistication is a prerequisite, such as medical device manufacturing, said Planning Minister MA Mannan yesterday.

"The country's development has been ongoing in a structured way," he told the celebration of a 12-year partnership between pharmaceutical company JMI Group and Japan-based Nipro Corporation.

The duo jointly organised the event styled "NIPRO-JMI Joint Venture: The trend setter of Japanese equity investment in Bangladesh's healthcare sector" at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka.

The partnership started off with the manufacturing of medical devices in 2011 and later expanded to healthcare services, pharmaceuticals and product marketing sectors, said a press release.

Around 5,500 employees currently work at five business entities under the joint venture initiative, which received $80 million (Tk 680 crore) foreign direct investment from Japan.

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, home affairs minister, ITO Naoki, Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh, Md Jabed Iqbal Pathan, chairman of JMI Group, were present.