iSoftStone plans Bangladesh office following China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative

iSoftStone Technology Service, an ICT services joint venture with China’s Huawei Technologies, is planning to open an office in Bangladesh to bring software solutions to key agriculture and banking sectors.

“We are working as part of our national leaders’ top level strategy ‘‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative,” Chief Consultant Liu Nian who is in Dhaka to sign an agricultural project-related agreement, told bdnews24.com on Wednesday.

They will work with the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University and the ruling Awami League’s research wing the Centre for Research and Information (CRI) for e-village project in Gazipur where farmers will be updated with real-time crop insights through apps for better production.

Apart from the project, Nian said, they were also planning to open an office in Dhaka to work on other sectors. “Banking system is one of the key areas we want to work here,” he said.

Based in Beijing, iSoftStone, a global leader in digital city technologies, has developed smart city strategies for over 100 municipalities and has implemented more than 50 related digital solutions.

The organisation provides comprehensive end-to-end solutions to governments, industries and enterprises with urban management, industrial application, services for livelihood improvement and city innovation.

“Our system is based on the requirements of a specific country,” Nian said, adding that they were helping the countries under the China government’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, which is the centerpiece of China’s economic diplomacy.

China is investing in large infrastructure projects in foreign countries since the beginning of the belt and road initiative in 2013.

Bangladesh formally joined the initiative during the visit of President Xi Jinping in October, believing it will bring “important opportunities” for its goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2021 and a developed country by 2041.

The iSoftStone’s chief consultant said “their projects just follow the government’s strategy”.

“We can bring a lot of advance technologies in Bangladesh. We have collaboration with leading global companies and Chinese universities,” he said.

“Bangladesh has so many people, so we see a potential market here. And that’s why we think about doing business in Bangladesh.”

Nian said Bangladesh can also benefit.

“Chinese companies are aggressive. We can do work very quickly with reasonable price and logic. Chinese companies can change so we can do what a country wants,” he said.