His Excellency Finance Minister Hon. Dr. AMA Muhith,
His Excellency Chairman of BSEC, Hon. Professor Dr. Khairul Hossain,
Hon. Chairman of Dhaka Stock Exchange Dr. Abul Hashem,
Hon. Economic and Commercial Counsellor Mr. Li Guanjun,
Ladies and gentlemen:
Good afternoon! I am very delighted to be here in the land which the poet Rabindranath Tagore described as the “Sonar Bangla”. Today in this fascinating and beautiful country, we are joined by our friends to witness the milestone of Sino-Bangladesh capital market cooperation. Friendship between China and Bangladesh dates far back in history and has been time-honored. Stories of our friendly exchanges along the Southern Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road throughout the millennia are still being told today. Eminent Chinese monk Xuanzang in the Tang Dynasty travelled to what is now Bangladesh and recorded his experience in the book “Great Tang Records of the Western Regions”. Here is what he wrote. “It is a harmonious and orderly society. Its people are prosperous, industrious and eager to seek knowledge.” Zheng He, an ancient Chinese navigator of Ming Dynasty visited Bengal twice. According to his description, “Shops line the street next to each other, and all goods imaginable are available”. Since ancient times, Chinese travelers and navigators have viewed Bengal as a blessed land of milk and honey. We can see the peoples of the two countries have long-term interactions and deep relationship.
Today, China’s investment in Bangladesh is booming and the cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields is vibrant. China has become Bangladesh’s largest trading partner. In 2016, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Bangladesh and together with Prime Minister Hasina forged the Sino-Bangladesh strategic cooperative partnership, laying a solid foundation for the further development and of both countries at a higher level.
China and Bangladesh are both developing countries with respective development advantages and well-aligned development goals. China has been sticking to the fundamental national policy of opening-up and pursuing development with an open door, actively promoting cooperation with the Belt and Road countries in order to achieve policy, infrastructure, trade, financial and people-to-people connectivity and to create new drivers of shared development. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has provided new opportunities for cooperation and win-win outcomes in the capital markets of the two countries. Last year, Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) formed a Chinese consortium and were kindly invited to participate in the international tender for strategic investment in Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). Based on the principles of frankness, practicality, and win-win cooperation, and after in-depth due diligence and close consultation in tandem with the development needs and advantages of China and Bangladesh, the Chinese consortium formulated a comprehensive and detailed bidding proposal, presenting the vision and path of further bilateral business cooperation and technology cooperation. This proposal has recently been officially approved by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission. We were greatly encouraged and inspired. In the bidding process, we received strong support and attention from regulatory agencies, government departments, market institutions and news media from both countries. We were deeply impressed by the professionalism and commitment of our friends from DSE. I hereby express my deepest respect and gratitude on behalf of the Chinese Consortium!
The stock exchange is a core institution and an important platform in the capital market. It plays an important role in the modern economic system. SZSE and SSE were established in 1990 and China’s capital market has now become an important emerging market with global influence. The total market capitalization of over 3,500 companies listed on the two exchanges is valued at US$8.9 trillion and the trading value in the first quarter of this year was US$4.5 trillion. The two stock exchanges in China have their own characteristics and advantages, providing strong impetus for the capital market cooperation between China and Bangladesh. Between the two exchanges, SSE is known for serving SOEs and blue-chip companies, while SZSE focuses on supporting innovative and high-tech companies, SMEs, and private enterprises, with a commitment to building a global leading innovative capital formation center. In addition, SZSE emphasizes on technology development. We have nearly a thousand technology development personnel and own a state-of-the-art trading system. After years of development, SZSE has established a multi-tiered capital market, including the Main Board, SME Board, and ChiNext Market. The major indicators of SZSE ranked at the top among major exchanges in the world. In 2017, SZSE ranked No. 1 in the world in terms of the number of IPOs, fund raised by equity and turnover, and No. 3 in terms of trading value.
In recent years, SZSE has been actively serving the Belt and Road Initiative to promote financial infrastructure cooperation, expand market connectivity, improve the cross-border capital service mechanism, accelerate the internationalization process, and has achieved positive results. As a strategic investor in DSE, the Chinese consortium will jointly promote the development of the Bangladeshi capital market with other shareholders of DSE, securities regulators and market participants in Bangladesh. We hope to enhance business and technology cooperation through equity cooperation, provide channels for cross-border capital formation between the two countries, develop a platform for cooperation between the securities service agencies of the two countries, and add new dimensions for cooperation to the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor. The Chinese consortium will strictly abide by the laws and regulations of Bangladesh, fully respect other shareholders and partners, conscientiously fulfill its shareholders' obligations, and participate in the corporate governance of DSE, enhance service capabilities, improve the development plan, and promote the capital market development in accordance with the principle of Extensive Consultation, Joint Development and Shared Benefits. We constantly improve the capital market’s capacity to serve the development of Bangladesh’s economy, and enhance the value of all relevant parties.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up, which has brought great changes to China and extensive cooperation opportunities to many countries in the world. In the future, China’s reforms will expand to broader scope, and engender more initiatives with greater intensity. China has opened up its door and will never close it; instead it will only open up even wider. The Chinese people have always given the market the highest respect. As an ancient quote goes: “The market congregates goods from all over the world for the selection by the populace. The market does its job when trades give people what they have been looking for”. This is the faith of the ancient Chinese people when developing the market. We will adhere to the aspiration and work together with Bangladeshi partners to reach agreements and promote the two-way opening-up and development of the capital markets, making the DSE cooperation project a successful model in emerging capital markets!
Thank you!
