 SRI LANKA
THE HUB OF SOUTH ASIA |
Sri Lanka, the exotic island in the Indian Ocean, also called in the past the 'Isle of Serendipity' and 'Ceylon', is known all over the world for its diverse attractions ranging from pristine beaches, and nature reserves to ancient cultural sites that date back to 2,500 years.
The island’s variety in climate, landscape and rich cultural heritage has for many centuries attracted millions of travellers from all over the world, and it still continues to do so by offering within an area of only 65,000sq. Km., a diversity of attractions and a way of life which combines a dynamic new present with a tradition-bound past.
Sri Lanka has a population of approximately 19 million. It is a multiracial, multi-religious country, with Sinhalese as its main community that make about 75% of the population, followed by Tamils, Indian Tamils, Muslims, Malays and Burghers. The main religion is Buddhism and others include Catholics, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam.
The country was under the rule of Portuguese, Dutch and the British for centuries and gained independence from the British only on February 4, 1948. Since then, people-elected Governments have led the country, and today, the country has a democratic Government headed by a woman.
Due to its committed workforce and its eagerness to learn new things, Sri Lanka has emerged as one of the best investment locations in South Asia with a highly educated population, efficient workers and excellent infrastructure facilities. This must be one of the major reasons why leading investors in the world such as NTT in Japan, P&O and Dubai based Emirates have decided to be partners of many organizations in Sri Lanka.
The country’s major shipping port in Colombo is one of the busiest if not the busiest in South Asia, and it is being further refined under a massive development project launched by the P&O, a leading shipping company. The national carrier 'Sri Lankan Airlines' tied-up with a strategic partner, Dubai based Emirates, rated this year as the best airline in South Asia.
As a result of privatization, of NTT with Sri Lanka Telecom, the telecommunication sector in the country saw new heights. NTT has brought in new technologies and know-how in order to provide the Sri Lankan population the latest services in telecommunications.
Sri Lanka's tea is a popular beverage in the world and the country prides to be the largest exporter. The country is also a garment-manufacturing base, which exports quality-garments under designer labels such as M&S, BHS, Gap, Victoria's Secret, and Nike. Moreover, multinational companies - Nestle, Unilever, Caltex and Shell Gas have their bases in Sri Lanka.
| The country's President, H.E. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarantunge says that her Government's first priority was to promote trade and investment to strengthen the fundamentals of the economy and to accelerate rural infrastructure development. "Without infrastructure development, we know that no other development would come. We have also identified the private sector as the main engine of growth," says the President.
So, by planning the economy, restructuring the Finance and Planning Ministries in order for things to happen properly and by improving the economic image of the country, we have been able to attract large and good foreign investors into the country. Foreign investments to the country have increased in a small way even with the ongoing war in the North/East of the country."
Women are the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy, and today they’re the major work force in the three major foreign exchange earning industries in the country: tea, garments and foreign remittances by female workers abroad. Not to be forgotten, Sri Lanka produced the first woman prime minister in the world, in late 1950.
Sri Lanka has signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with its neighbouring country India which has opened up many new trade opportunities to both foreign and local investors based in Sri Lanka, since they are exposed to the second largest market in the world through this agreement. "Our vision is to build Sri Lanka as one of the three major financial and services hubs of this part of Asia," says President Kumarantunge." She continues, 'With its strategic location, Sri Lanka is also the ideal location to base any industry by foreign investors who would plan to break into Asian markets which are emerging export markets in the future '
Korea is Sri Lanka's biggest investor at present. The UK, Australia, Germany, India, Japan and US companies have also invested heavily in a wide range of manufacturing and industrial plants here, while US is the major exporter of Sri Lanka.
President Kumarantungesays: 'My fervent message to foreign investors is to come and explore what Sri Lanka offers. We have had negative media publicity internationally because of few bombing incidents in Colombo from time to time. But there are equal numbers of bombs going off in the city of London as well! It doesn't mean that the country is unsafe. The business environment here is excellent and it is amongst the best two in Asia. Moreover, it's a nice beautiful country with a lot of wild life and people can enjoy pleasant weekends while conducting business during the week.
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