Dhaka, 09 September, 2023, Saturday: Bangladesh has become a perfect and risk-free place for more and more Chinese investment, speakers said at a seminar in Dhaka. They said that the government of Bangladesh has been creating a business environment to attract foreign investment in the sectors like infrastructure development, ICT, Roads-Highways, and Power-Energy.
The seminar titled, “China-Bangladesh Enterprises High-quality Development Forum Achievement and Way Forward” was held at the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre (BBCFEC) at Purbachal in Dhaka on Saturday (09 September, 2023) afternoon. The exhibition has been organized by the Embassy of China in Bangladesh in collaboration with Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and China Enterprises Association in Bangladesh (CEAB) with the aim of increasing China-Bangladesh economic and trade cooperation marking the 10 years celebration of The Belt and Road Initiative.
Addressing the seminar as the Chief Guest Additional Secretary of Economic Relations Division (ERD) AHM Jahangir said that the Chinese investment in Bangladesh is visible enough. The Chinese government and businesses have been working as one of the carriers of Bangladesh’s development. The Bangladesh’s present development scenario has been providing confidence to attract more investment from China, and the Chinese counterparts should take this advantage. Now Bangladesh has turned into an ideal and risk-free place for foreign investment, especially Chinese investment. We hope more and more Chinese investment in Bangladesh in the coming days.”
Mentioning the characteristics of Chinese investments in Bangladesh, he further said, “Majority of it is G2G projects and the other is government tender. The internal procedure of signing the projects is slow with China. I urge Chinese government to reduce the time of processing the investment in Bangladesh.”
President of Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh (CEAB) and Chairman of CCECC Bangladesh Limited Ke Changliang in his welcome speech said, “Chinese is the Infrastructure Construction Hero in the world, even in Bangladesh, Chinese companies are quite active in different important mega projects. A total of 12 roads and 21 bridges totalling a length of 550 kilometres have been built, while seven railway lines with a total length of 541.9 kilometre have been constructed by Chinese enterprises. Also, Chinese enterprises have invested in various energy fields such as coal, solar, and wind power plants, making the energy mix increasingly diversified.”
He also said, “Now Chinese companies have made significant investments in the manufacturing sector, and set up manufacturing plants created half a million jobs in Bangladesh. In the EPZ area, 25 percent of investors are Chinese. Chinese companies have been working hard and made a great achievement and contribution to the rapid socio-economic development of Bangladesh. Looking into the future, we commit to strengthen ties with all parties in Bangladesh, to prompt the bilateral economic cooperation to a higher level.”
General Secretary of Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI) Al Mamun Mridha said, “Bangladesh and China have a remarkable journey of high-quality development, innovation, and collaboration under the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese companies have been instrumental in transforming our nation, contributing to various sectors of our economy. In the coming years, we aspire to further strengthen our ties, explore new avenues of cooperation, and continue to work towards mutual prosperity. The Belt and Road Initiative has been a beacon of hope, and together, we will continue to illuminate the path toward high-quality development and a brighter future for both our nations.”
The event was also addressed by Economic and Commercial Counsellor of Embassy of China to Bangladesh Song Yang, First Vice President of BGMEA Syed Nazrul Islam, Chief Engineer of Bangladesh Bridge Authority Quazi Muhammad Ferdous, Executive President of BKMEA Mohammad Hatem, PPP Specialist of Public Private Partnership Authority AM Al-Amin, Honorary President of CEAB and Managing Director of LDC group Zhuang Lifeng, Representative of Information & Communications Technology Branch, CEAB, CTO of Huawei South Asia Ma Jian, Vice President of Power and Energy Branch of CEAB and Deputy Country Manager of PowerChina in Bangladesh Han Kun, Advisor of S Alam Group ASM Alamgir Kabir, and Managing Director of Powervision Group Mojibur Rahman.
