CMA Delegation to Bangladesh

To help members identify the opportunities under the “Belt and Road Initiative”(“B&R”) and avoid the US tariff threat by diversifying market, the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong (CMA) organised a delegation to Bangladesh during 22 and 26 May 2019.
 
CMA President Dr Dennis Ng said the CMA pays close attention to the opportunities arising from the “B&R”. “We have organised a number of trade missions to countries along the route, including the one to Central Asia in 2015 and another one to Ethiopia last year. We hope that through these delegations, members can take steps to explore and evaluate the potential opportunities in such emerging markets and then formulate a diversified investment strategy, cushioning the impact of the trade conflict.”
 
Upon arrival, President Dr Ng and the delegates started the visit by meeting with H.E. Mr A.K.Abdul Momen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. They had fruitful exchanges on the business co-operation opportunities and local investment environment. Dr Momen said Bangladesh economy has maintained a steady growth performance during the past decade, providing favourable conditions for doing business. “In addition to offering a liberal and sound foreign direct investment regime and the most generous incentives for investors, Bangladesh also has comparative advantages of low wages and large supply of young labour.”
 
The delegation also visited the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) to learn about the investment policy and the latest development of Bangladesh.
 
The following day the delegation met with H.E. Zhang Zuo, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, where members gained a deeper understanding about the nation’s role in Bangladesh’s overall development achieved so far. During the meeting, President Dr Ng said the close ties between the Mainland and Bangladesh have offered many opportunities for Hong Kong, “The investment and assistance that the Chinese government is providing for the development of Bangladesh’s infrastructure is improving the conditions of doing business within Bangladesh. We hope that the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh could act as a bridge for Hong Kong businesses to seize these opportunities and reflect their voices to protect their interests.”
 
Bangladesh is an important manufacturing base in Southern Asia and the second largest garment exporter in the world. The delegates had an opportunity to visit Unimas Sportswear Limited, a Hong Kong manufacturing company active in the country, to gain insights about operating a factory in Bangladesh.  The delegation also attended an investment and networking seminar organised by CMA to listen to the presentations conducted by the Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) and Mr Li Fan, Chief Operating Officer of China Harbour Engineering Company about the outlook of Bangladesh’s tourism industry and Chinese Economic and industrial zone in Chittagong respectively. A matchmaking session was held during the seminar, connecting delegates with local potential business partners.
 
The delegation returned to Hong Kong on 26 May. President Dr Ng expressed much appreciation for Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh and the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh for the warm welcome and providing support in the logistical arrangements. He believed that the trip could help facilitate formation of partnerships between Hong Kong and local enterprises in exploring the Belt and Road markets, and would help bring about mutual collaboration. “The trade war has awakened enterprises to the urgent need to speed up diversification. With the low manufacturing costs and a large domestic market of 160 million populations with rising per capita, Bangladesh, without doubt, has great potential as an export market and a production base which we should keep an eye on.”
 
Members of the delegation also included CMA Vice President Dr Wong Chun, Mr Dennis Ng Kwok On, Chairlady of CMA International Affairs Committee cum Executive Committee Member Ms Shirley Chan, CMA Chief Executive Officer Mr Raymond Young, CMA Executive Committee Members and General Committee Members. 


CMA President Dr Ng (front row, 6th from the left) and the delegates met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Bangladeshi Government H.E. Mr A.K. Abdul Momen (front row, 7th from the left)


The delegation met with Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh H.E. Zhang Zuo (middle row, 2nd from left)


The delegation toured Unimas Sportswear Limited, a Hong Kong-owned company in Bangladesh


Delegates attended a business matching session to meet their potential partners in Bangladesh


CMA Chief Executive Officer Mr Raymond Young chaired the investment and networking seminar organised by the CMA