China wants to invest $350 million in Bangladesh’s apparel sector, says Muhith

China has offered to invest $350 million in Bangladesh’s apparel sector, Finance Minister AMA Muhith says.

Bangladesh is the world’s second largest exporter of readymade garment products after China.
 
Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng informed Muhith of Beijing’s proposal after signing a letter of exchange on ‘Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre’ on Tuesday in Dhaka.
 
Beijing will give Dhaka Tk 6.757 billion in grants to construct the ‘Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre’ on the outskirts of the capital.
 
An agreement has been signed to this end.
 
Muhith said the two countries discussed financial assistance during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s China visit.
 
“We made some proposals and followed them up,” he said. “China has accepted all of them.”
 
He said economic relations between Dhaka and Beijing were rapidly expanding.
 
Beijing was also interested to invest in the railway, jute, bridges and tunnel sectors, Muhith said.
 
“They are prioritising construction of a road to Kunming via Myanmar. We’ve told that we’ll construct 23km of the 170km road. Our Cabinet has also approved it,” the finance minister added.
 
He said many other companies, too, had expressed interest to invest in Bangladesh.
 
The minister hoped China would revise the interest rate on their investments based on Dhaka’s proposals.
 
“We didn’t make down payment in three projects we were supposed to,” he said. “They didn’t say anything either.”