China’s infiltration into the stock market of Pakistan-Bangladesh
The stock markets of Pakistan and Bangladesh may be small compared to India, but one thing that connects them is the important stake of China. China’s participation in the stock markets of these two countries does not just take economic investment, but also towards strategic impact. While India’s stock market is worth $ 5.42 lakh crore, Pakistan’s market value is only $ 28.86 billion. The market capital of Bangladesh is even less. Despite this, China has registered its presence by taking a share in the stock exchanges of both countries.
China’s 40% stake in Pakistan Stock Exchange
According to a news control news, China in the year 2017 Stock market Had invested big in Shanghai Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, China Financial Fucers Exchange (CFFEX), Pak-China Investment Company and Habib Bank Limited together formed a consortium and bought a 40 % share in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). This deal has been confirmed on the website of Shanghai Stock Exchange. Through this consortium, China not only got economic stake, but also made its place in management.
According to the 2024 annual report of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, these three Chinese exchanges have been mentioned as a foreign shareholder. The board has a total of 10 directors in the board, three of which, U Hang (Representative of CFFEX), Fu Hao and Gu Junmei (both officers of Shanghai Stock Exchange) are from China. This simply means that China’s opinion has become important in policy decisions.
Dragon has set foot in Bangladesh too
After Pakistan, Bangladesh’s turn came. In May 2018, a Chinese consortium led by Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange bought a 25 per cent stake in the Dhaka Stock Exchange. The deal came when the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission approved this Chinese dialect. However, China’s board presence in Bangladesh is not as deep as Pakistan. According to the website of Dhaka Stock Exchange, only one of the 13 members of the board represent Wang High (from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange), China. Despite the low attendance in the board, such a large stake makes China indirectly effective in many decisions related to market direction and development.
What is the purpose behind investment?
China’s deep stake in the stock markets of these two countries is not limited to getting economic benefits just. This can be part of the big strategy under which China wants to strengthen its reach and impact in Asia’s small and medium -sized economies. Experts believe that China is increasing its influence in countries where it is already present diplomatic and geographically, such as the CPEC project in Pakistan and through infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.