Staff Correspondent

Bangladesh will host a trade and investment summit in Beijing during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming state visit to China.

She will inaugurate the summit aimed at boosting Chinese investment and finding ways to reduce the trade imbalance that now favours China, sources familiar with the development said this week.

Over 1,000 Chinese and Bangladeshi investors will join it in different business sessions to discuss opportunities for investment in Bangladesh.

During the visit, Dhaka is likely to seek $7 billion in loans to support the trade sector, which will make easy opening of LC for the import of goods from China, sources said.

The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Security and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI), and Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing are jointly organising the trade summit.

BSEC Chairman Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam told UNB that the summit would bring businesspeople of the two countries under an umbrella to know each other and find scopes of investment in Bangladesh.

He said the prime minister would talk directly with the Chinese investors to encourage them to invest in Bangladesh.

Al Mamun Mridha, BCCCI secretary general, told UNB that Bangladesh has identified 20 potential sectors to attract Chinese investors. At the Beijing Trade and Investment Summit, Bangladeshi businesses will be highlighted with specific business offers to Chinese investors.

He said Bangladeshi businesses would offer Chinese investors that invest in Bangladesh and get the advantage of exporting their products to the Chinese market at 98% duty-free facilities.

Through this investment, Bangladesh would be able to narrow the huge trade gap with China and the Chinese investors would get opportunities for low-cost production options here, Mamun pointed out.

He believed that some Chinese investors would shift their manufacturing industry to Bangladesh as the country (Bangladesh) is also a big market for Chinese products.

“Bangladesh will also seek $7 billion fund support in the trade sector that will help to boost trade with China. This may be in Chinese currency Yuan, so that Bangladeshi businesses can open LC in Yuan,” Mamun added.

Though China and Bangladesh agreed to start trade with the Yuan, Bangladesh could not do so, due to the lack of available Yuan. Bangladesh faces a huge trade gap with China. As a result, there is a shortage of Chinese currency for trading.

Bangladesh mainly imports from China industrial raw materials, capital machinery, and electrical products, which factories can be set up in Bangladesh.

Currently, Bangladesh imports around $24 billion (according to Chinese customs data) annually while Bangladesh exports less than $1 billion.

Bangladesh will offer China to invest in ceramic, leather, pharmaceuticals, electric cars, high-end garnets, and household appliances.