RIU Investor Forum 2020 at Maldivian Embassy, Colombo

As part of its ongoing efforts to position Sri Lanka as an attractive investment destination for the diaspora as well as non-Sri Lankan investors, the Research Intelligence Unit (RIU) hosts another property investment forum in association with the Maldivian Embassy in Colombo.

RIU held the investor forum for the Maldivians at the Maldivian Embassy in Colombo, on 17 January. The event was graced by Ambassador of Maldives to Sri Lanka Omar Abdul Razzaq. The company’s revamped business magazine, ‘The Big Life’ was also unveiled at the event along with the RIU Maldives Country report.

The welcome address and opening remarks were by Dr. Anil Priyanka Baddevithana who served in the Maldives for over 10 years as the Managing Director of Housing Development Finance Corporation PLC, which was a partner of the IFC of the World Bank Group. 

The keynote speech by Omar Razzak was followed by Roshan Madewela who gave a detailed introduction to the apartments market in Colombo. Madawela is the founding Director of the RIU with its offices in London, Colombo and the Maldives. The RIU has been monitoring the property market in Sri Lanka for over 15 years and has provided advisory services to over 90% of developers in Colombo. 

A panel discussion about the current state of the real estate market, among other concerns that investors may have, took place following all the presentations. The panel consisted of Capital Trust Properties Chairman Tushan Wickramasinghe, JKH Executive Vice President Roshanie Jayasundera Moraes and Premalal the visionary leader and the group Chairman of the largest real estate entity of Sri Lanka which is the Prime Group. The discussion, which addressed a wide range of questions from the audience was moderated by RIU’s founding CEO Roshan Madewela.

The sponsors of the event included Prime Lands Group, Altair, John Keells Holdings, Iconic Galaxy, Capital, Mulberr Residencies, Dusit Thani, The Big Life magazine and Trees and Leaves from London.

RIU has been active in positioning Sri Lanka as an attractive international investment destination by hosting investment forums in key FDI source destinations like London, Middle East, Maldives and East Asia. For 2020, the company has scheduled several forums in London, Qatar, Male and Melbourne that target both the Sri Lankan diaspora as well as non-Sri Lankan property investors. The company works closely with relevant Embassies and High Commissions in order to facilitate the highest possible positioning for Sri Lanka. 

Founding CEO Roshan Madawela concluded that whilst the past 12-18 months has been a rough ride for the real estate industry, a turn-around in fortunes has already been noted and the medium to long-term prospects for Sri Lanka look extremely bright.