Standard Chartered Bangladesh offers financing support to implement a key infrastructural project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of the Chinese government.
The BRI is a development strategy proposed by the Chinese government that focuses on connectivity and cooperation between Eurasian countries.
Gas- and coal-based power plants, rail link and road-related infrastructure will be boosted under the BRI, where the SCB can play a major role in implementing the projects.
“China is the largest trading partner of Bangladesh and it was also the biggest supplier in the globe,” said Naser Ezaz Bijoy, chief executive officer of SCB.
Bijoy's comments came in a media session organised by SCB styled 'Belt and Road – China-Bangladesh Opportunities' at the capital's Westin hotel recently.
“Bangladesh is facing a lack of infrastructure. So, a significant amount of infrastructure-related funding from foreign sources is needed.”
SCB is active in financing power projects. “The financing extended by the bank has a direct role in generating 20 per cent power in the country,” he added.
Bangladesh had achieved over 6.0 per cent GDP growth every year of last one decade, said Enamul Huque, country head of SCB's global banking division.
The BRI initiative will jack the country's business up and the locally operated SCB would promote Chinese investment, he said. Jean Lu, head of global banking and corporate and institutional banking of Standard Chartered China, said the BRI is strengthening investment cooperation and people-to-people connectivity.
China earlier gave importance to making investment in the power sector but it now wants to focus on infrastructure, high-tech and healthcare sectors, she said.
SCB can play the role of a matchmaker to help implement the BRI as it has a good presence in the countries that will be linked via the 'One Belt, One Road' programme, she said.
As many as 67 countries will be connected by the BRI initiative, and Standard Chartered has presence in 47 of the countries.
Bitopi Das Chowdhury, SCB's country head of corporate affairs, and Sebastian Er, executive director of the Belt and Road Strategy Execution Team of Standard Chartered China, also spoke at the event.
-rmc//