(Yicai Global) Oct. 31 -- Kunming, in the Chinese province of Yunnan, hosted a Belt and Road registration event for the Clinical International Forum on Oct. 30, with department heads from Laos, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka offering up development blueprints for their home industries and inviting Chinese firms to play a role in the plans, state-run China News Service reported.

More and more Chinese firms are heading to Sri Lanka thanks to its relaxed investment environment. To date, Chinese companies have pumped USD12 billion into the country, said Wellaweediyage Ajith Damantha Perera, secretary-general of the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "Despite the big investment from Chinese firms, our medical industry has barely been touched. We hope more medical companies will invest here, and will support Chinese enterprises investing here in the future."

Under existing policies in Bangladesh, Chinese medical firms which set up factories and companies there will be eligible for 10 years of tax credits, allowing 100-percent direct foreign investment. There are also preferential policies in communications and education, said Mainuddin Ahmed, co-secretary-general of the country's Ministry of Health.

Laos, which has close ties with Southeast Asia and China, is looking to develop its energy sector and medical treatments, said Bounxou Keohavong, deputy director of its Food and Drug Department.

With growing consumer spending and demographic dividends, many developing countries in Southeast Asia have become fresh seas for China's capital investors, with firms pumping money into manufacturing, energy, real estate and utilities. However, spending in medicine is still in its infancy.

The medical sector differs greatly from traditional trade industries, so a prior understanding of the overseas investment market and medical regulations are key to planning, said Cai Tianzhi, deputy secretary-general of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products.