Staff Reporter :
Many Chinese investors are considering Bangladesh as an ideal destination for investment in the current global geopolitical and economic situation. They are, therefore, interested in shifting investments to Bangladesh including placing new investments.
The Chinese investors expressed this interest in a side table discussion at the end of a seminar titled “Investment Opportunities in the Export Processing Zones and BEPZA Economic Zone of Bangladesh” organised by Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, China.
BEPZA in association with the Quanzhou Maritime Silk Road Industry and Commerce Association organised the seminar on 30 April 2024. About 100 participants attended the seminar of various Chinese investment organizations/industrial groups who have their interest in investing in Bangladesh.
BEPZA Executive Chairman Major General Abul Kalam Md Ziaur Rahman, BSP, ndc, psc attended the seminar as the chief guest. Presenting an overall picture of the current favourable investment climate prevailing in Bangladesh, especially Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) he said that Bangladesh has experienced tremendous growth over the last decade. The strategic geographical location, demographic dividend, large & expanding domestic market, stable socio-political environment, etc. are the key contributors to the rapid economic development, he added.
Major General Zia said that the main attraction of investment in Bangladesh is the most inexpensive, productive, abundant and easily trainable workforce. He said that Bangladesh has been consistently liberalizing its foreign investment policies over the time. The Government has formulated “One Stop Service Act” for the Investment Promotion Agencies of Bangladesh to provide faster and better services, he added.
Mentioning the expansion plan of BEPZA the executive chairman said, along with the eight operational EPZs, BEPZA is establishing an Economic Zone in Mirsharai, Chattogram which has already attracted 28 industries in its development stage, and a few of them started production. Moreover, establishment of three new EPZs are also under process which will be ready for the investors by the end of 2025. He urged Chinese investors to invest in these zones under BEPZA.
In the welcome speech, Lino, one of the senior members of the host association thanked BEPZA delegation and expressed his positive impression about Bangladesh.
Changsong Chen, the Vice Chairman of Quanzhou Maritime Silk Road Industry and Commerce Association, in his speech as the Special Guest, highlighted the long-standing friendly relations between Bangladesh and China and invited Chinese investors to invest in Bangladesh.
In the evening, the BEPZA delegation attended a dinner hosted by the city mayor. Some investors interested in investing in Bangladesh also attended the dinner where bilateral investment issues were discussed. During the dinner, discussions were also held regarding organizing training programs between China’s Fujian Province and Bangladesh for the workers-employees.