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Delegates and guests at the 'Bangladesh Day' program held in Beijing
Invest Bangladesh has called upon leading Chinese commercial banks to establish direct operations in Bangladesh to support surging bilateral trade, facilitate investment financing, and deepen financial integration. The appeal was made during "Bangladesh Day," an investment promotion forum held at the headquarters of the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) in Beijing on Tuesday (October 20), organized jointly with Invest Bangladesh.
According to a press release, the event drew representatives from 11 prominent Chinese financial institutions, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), and Bank of China (BOC)—which rank among the world's four largest banks by assets. Delegations from 26 major Chinese corporations across various industrial sectors also participated. Invest Bangladesh Chairman Ashik Chowdhury attended as the chief guest, alongside China Exim Bank Vice President Wang Kang and Bangladesh’s Ambassador to China Md. Nazmul Islam.
A keynote presentation titled "The Next Frontier—Bangladesh–China Financial Connectivity," delivered jointly by Bangladesh Bank and Invest Bangladesh, highlighted that bilateral trade reached $19 billion in fiscal year 2024–25. Despite the volume of trade, no Chinese financial institution currently maintains direct branch operations in Bangladesh, unlike regional economies such as Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, which host Chinese bank branches despite recording similar or lower trade volumes with China. The presentation outlined emerging opportunities for Chinese financiers and corporate entities across priority growth sectors, notably within the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone (CEIZ) and the Mongla Economic Zone.
Speaking at the forum, Ashik Chowdhury emphasized that establishing direct financial channels represents the logical next phase of Bangladesh-China cooperation. He noted that Chinese enterprises investing in Bangladesh require seamless trade financing, machinery acquisition credit, working capital, and long-term funding. In turn, China Exim Bank Vice President Wang Kang stated that the institution currently finances around 40 projects in Bangladesh spanning infrastructure, energy, agriculture, processing, and manufacturing. He affirmed that China Exim Bank will encourage leading Chinese companies to pursue foreign direct investment in key priority sectors such as textiles and healthcare to support Bangladesh’s production and service economy.
https://thedailyexpress.news/news/business/1f1cd77c-da68-6280-bb91-e09270fa0bf7