DHAKA: Leading Chinese business houses are setting up a large wholesale market in Bangladesh as part of a 400-million taka ($6.78 million) project to increase exports.

They are planning the Bangladesh-China Commercial Town at Kanchpur on the outskirts of this Bangladesh capital, the Bangla language daily Prothom Alo reported Wednesday (Nov 10).

Some 500 Chinese companies will have shops in the wholesale market on 14 acres of land. The commercial hub is expected to start functioning from April next year.

Bangladesh Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury launched the Chinese project Tuesday and said Chinese investors were coming to Bangladesh in large numbers.

"This project is a testimony of good relations between the two countries and will further strengthen our trade relations," he said.

Wang Zhi Guo, the president of the China National Chamber of Commerce, said China has a huge consumer market in Bangladesh and it is expanding.

"Once established, Bangladeshi consumers will be able to get Chinese products at affordable price," he said.

Bangladesh has a huge trade deficit with China and made an import payment of $1.32 billion last year.

Cheap Chinese products have flooded the Bangladeshi market resulting in a rise in Chinese imports by about 42 percent last year.

Indo-Asian News Service