Bangladesh 12th most attractive destination for Chinese investors: EIU
Bangladesh was in 52nd position in the 2013 edition of the index
Bangladesh has climbed a whopping 40 notches up in a decade in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) China Going Global Investment Index 2023, standing as the 12th most attractive destination for Chinese investors after India (11th).
Released on 7 September, the 2023 edition of the index ranked 80 investment destinations based on their appeal to Chinese investors, using around 200 indicators.
Bangladesh was in 52nd position in the 2013 edition of the index.
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The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, and in the decade since, Chinese companies have become formidable global investors. The EIU forecasted that China will regain its position as the second-largest source of overseas direct investment (ODI) by 2024.
Singapore topped the 2023 ranking as the most attractive destination for Chinese investors.
"Its appeal lies in its status as an established global business hub, its cultural ties to China and its neutrality in the tensions between China and the West", read the report.
Indonesia came 2nd as the attractiveness of the country stems from its nickel reserves, abundant cheap labour and vast market size.
It is followed by Malaysia (3rd), Hong Kong (4th), Thailand (5th), Vietnam (6th), Switzerland (7th), the United Arab Emirates (8th), Saudi Arabia (9th), and Chile (10th).
The report highlighted, "South-east and South Asia have climbed steadily in the ranking since 2013, reflecting the regions' robust growth outlook, growing middle class, abundant strategic natural resources and relative openness towards Chinese investors."
The EIU has pinpointed four motivations for which Chinese companies "go global": market expansion, supply-chain development, natural resources and technology and innovation.
The risk considerations include a country's bilateral relations with China and the operational and financial risks to general foreign investors.
Within these categories of opportunity and risk, they have selected a series of around 200 forward-looking quantitative indicators to generate the overall China Going Global Investment Index.
Market expansion opportunities are more prevalent in South-east and South Asia.
Bangladesh ranked as the second most attractive destination for market expansion investment, after Indonesia.
The EIU forecasted that Indonesia and Bangladesh will be among the top 20 global economies by 2040, based on market size, economic growth and the potential of the aforementioned sectors.
Bangladesh stood as the 8th most attractive destination for supply-chain development investment, the sub-ranking assessed the competitiveness of different investment destinations as key supply-chain nodes of Chinese manufacturers.
Recognising different levels of risk tolerance and management capacity among investors, the EIU has supplemented the ranking with an opportunity/risk matrix—a tool designed to categorise markets into various groups.
Bangladesh is among destinations with more opportunities and less risk.
