Bangladesh's main stock exchange has signed an agreement to sell a quarter of the bourse to a Chinese consortium. Monday's agreement formally rejects a rival bid from regional ally India. Officials from the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges signed the deal to acquire 25 percent of the Dhaka Stock Exchange's 1.8 billion shares. The Dhaka bourse's hunt for a strategic partner came as it turned into a demutualized exchange in 2013. A DSE official said that the proposal of the Chinese consortium was the best in terms of value and technical support. The Shenzhen bourse said that the Chinese consortium's bid to become a strategic partner of the DSE would support the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

WANG JIANJUN, MANAGING DIRECTOR SHENZHEN STOCK EXCHANGE "Bangladesh's market would be promoted with our technical support. So I think the agreement led to a win-win situation. The Chinese consortium's bid to become a strategic partner of the DSE will promote localization of Chinese enterprises in Bangladesh, while the Shenzhen stock exchange will help accelerate the growth of Bangladesh's small and medium-size enterprises. Besides, the agreement will also support the development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

LI GUANGJUN, ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL COUNSELOR CHINESE EMBASSY IN BANGLADESH "The relations between China and Bangladesh have been promoted since President Xi visited Bangladesh in 2016. The two countries signed an agreement on jointly promoting the Belt and Road initiative, which has created wider prospects for bilateral exchanges and cooperation in the financial field."