Visiting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia said she hoped more Chinese investors would go to her country to find valuable business opportunities at the Sino-Bangladesh Business Opportunities Seminar held Friday in Beijing.

"Manufacturing growth in Bangladesh has increased from 3.19 percent in 1998 to 8.43 percent during 2004," she said.

"Foreign investors are now recognizing Bangladesh as a competitive investment location, and during the last 12-month period, renowned multinational companies like Microsoft and Singapore Telecom have started investments in Bangladesh," she said.

"In 2004 we attracted a net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of 650 million US dollars."

As a Less Developed Country, Bangladesh enjoys duty-free market access to the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, so Chinese investors can take advantage of this and invest in various competitive sectors of Bangladesh, she said.

"The sectors I recommend to you for your consideration are: readymade garments, textiles, man-made fibre, agro-processing, leather products, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, energy, power and infrastructure development," she tole Chinese entrepreneurs.

She also advised Chinese trade companies to import sea-food, pharmaceuticals, footwear, ceramics, leather and jute goods from Bangladesh.

Figures provided by the Bangladeshi embassy in China show that in 2004, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of Bangladesh reached 5.6 percent, and the investment accounted for 23.2 percent of the total GDP. Renowned Chinese companies such as Huawei and Haier have started investment in Bangladesh.

Source: Xinhua