Chinese FDI in Bangladesh sees tremendous growth

02 Oct '21

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to Bangladesh has jumped by about 200 per cent year on year (YoY) to $418 million in the past seven months, according to Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming. China has become Bangladesh's largest trading partner and the latter is the former’s third largest market for engineering contracts in South Asia, he said.

Jiming was speaking at the China-Bangladesh Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum 2021 and inauguration of the seventh council of the Chinese Enterprises Association in Bangladesh (CEAB) held virtually recently.

"Even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, our bilateral trade and investment bucked global trends, fully demonstrating the resilience and vitality of China-Bangladesh cooperation during such a crucial period of time," the envoy remarked.

From January to July this year, the trade volume between China and Bangladesh reached $13 billion, up by 58.9 per cent YoY. At the same time, Chinese contractors in Bangladesh registered turnover of $3.18 billion, up by 59.5 per cent YoY.

After the zero-tariff benefit afforded to 97 per cent of Bangladesh's exports to China took effect, shipments to the East Asian nation have posted double-digit growth.

During the January-July period, Bangladesh's exports to China increased by about 38 per cent YoY, Jiming said. Up till March this year, the total value of FDI in Bangladesh stood at about $20 billion, of which China provided around $1.4 billion.

Most Chinese investment comes in the local power sector, which received about $443 million as of May this year, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.

According to data compiled by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), bilateral trade between China and Bangladesh was about $12 billion in 2019-20 fiscal, which was heavily tilted towards China.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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