Staff Correspondent

Longi, the largest solar panel manufacturer in the world, has decided to set up an office and invest in solar panel manufacturing in Bangladesh, Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Yao Wen said on Sunday.

He said several top Chinese solar panel manufacturers visited Bangladesh in December to explore opportunities to invest in the country.

They made the visit after Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus extended an invitation to Chinese companies to relocate their manufacturing plants here as part of the interim government's plan to turn the country into an economic hub.

Ambassador Yao Wen said of the companies that visited Bangladesh, at least two Chinese firms, including Longi, have decided to set up offices and plants in the country.

“They will invest in Bangladesh very soon,” he told Chief Adviser Yunus at the state guesthouse Jamuna.

Yao Wen said Chinese firms have been the largest investors in Bangladesh since 5 August, when the autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power.

He said dozens of Chinese companies have lined up to invest in Bangladesh as a dedicated Chinese export processing zone is expected to work soon.

The ambassador said the upcoming official visit of the chief adviser to China would be the most important one in the 50-year-long relationship between the two “trustworthy” and close friends.

Welcoming more Chinese investors in Bangladesh, Prof Yunus said the country can be a top manufacturing hub for companies who want to export goods to Western nations.

He urged Chinese hospital chains to set up top clinics here or build joint venture healthcare facilities with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

“Bangladesh needs massive investment in healthcare. The Chinese hospital chains now have unique opportunities to construct hospitals here,” he said.

Yao Wen said China has dedicated four hospitals in the southern Chinese city of Kunming for Bangladeshi patients. A group of Bangladeshi people travelled to Kunming last week for treatment.

He said Peking University, one of the world's top educational institutions, would confer an honorary doctorate to Prof Yunus during the visit. The chief adviser would also speak at the university.

During the visit, the first bilateral foreign tour of the chief adviser, he would join and speak at the Boao Forum, considered the Davos of the East, where top leaders and CEOs gather every year to discuss top global issues.

Prof Yunus would deliver a speech on Asia in a Changing World: Towards a Shared Future. The Chinese executive vice-premier will also join him during the session.

The chief adviser is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on 28 March. The two countries will issue a joint statement after the meeting.