China and Bangladesh to expand cooperation in textile and garment industries
BY LIU CHUNTAO
In recent years, more and more Chinese enterprises have set up factories in Bangladesh, riding a wave of optimism regarding opportunities in the countrys textile and garment industries. With the building of the Belt and Road, China and Bangladesh are confident in their shared prospects in the textile and garment industries.
Yan Baoling, permanent honorary president of the World Chinese Overseas Trade Union General Attestation, said that she started a hat factory in Bangladesh because of the Belt and Road Initiative. When the factory had just been built, only 400 people lived in the village where it was located. Now her factory employs more than 4,000 workers and the population of surrounding villages exceeds 10,000 people.
Chen Qihua has been operating a factory in Bangladesh for many years. For foreign enterprises, including those from China, setting up factories in Bangladesh across many sectors are open to the outside world. Only a few industries are the exception, and foreign enterprises do not have to set up joint ventures with local enterprises to create their own factories.
Azizur Rahman is a Bangladeshi investment expert and a retired member of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA). According to Rahman, export processing zones in Bangladesh have introduced many preferential policies to attract foreign investment. These include tax reductions and exemptions for imports of equipment, income tax reductions and exemptions and bonded warehouse services, and a duty-free period of several years for investment in infrastructure. Rahman suggested that enterprises should first conduct field investigations and meet with the people in charge of local export processing zones so that they fully understand the situation. He also said invstors should find land or already existing workshops before going through the formalities for setting up factories. (Xinhua)
