SLASSCOM key partner of Sri Lanka Investment Forum 2021

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) and the Colombo Stock Exchange, with the aim of attracting direct and portfolio investors including sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds, and other top investors from across the world, has initiated the Sri Lanka Investment Forum (SLIF) 2021, slated to take place on a virtual platform from the 7-9 June.

The Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM), as the national chamber for the knowledge and innovation industry in Sri Lanka with over 300 member companies accounting for 90% of the IT-BPM industry export revenue, bears the flag for the industry which has the potential to become the No. 1 export revenue earner for the country. 

SLASSCOM will be a key partner of the event, where they will bring in a team of renowned global speakers, who will give an insight into their experiences of investing in Sri Lanka and outline the success stories of their ventures. They will also provide their expertise in the diverse investment portfolios available in Sri Lanka.

The line-up of speakers brought in by SLASSCOM will include Jayantha De Silva — Secretary to the Ministry of Technology Sri Lanka; Kerry Hallard — CEO of the GSA and Chairperson at Global Technology and Business Services Council - GT&BSC; Dag Honningsvåg — Serial Investor and Corporate Leader; Farazy Fahmy — Director Research at Synopsys Inc.; Dr. Romesh Ranwana — CEO of Tengri UAV PTE LTD; Dinesh Wickremanayeka — Managing Director at WNS Global Service; Shirmathi Shivashankar — Corporate Vice President and Program Director of New Vistas HCL Technologies; Dee Liyanwela — Global Head of Corp Services London Stock Exchange Group; Dr. Nisha Talagala — CEO of Pyxeda AI; Bimal Gunapala — General Manager of Willey Global Technology; Dr. Suresh Hettiarachchi — Venture Partner and Technology Commercialisation Manager at 360ip Japan; Jehan Perinpanayagam — CEO Informate and Vice President of John Keells Holdings; Amardeep Devadasan — Senior Vice President - Operations at RR Donnelly Global Outsourcing; and Vivek Sood — CFO of Axiata Digital Labs. 

SLASSCOM Chairman Channa Manoharan stated: “This is an opportune time for Sri Lanka to forge and build relationships for business and trade with other nations, and we commend the CCC, BOI and CSE for organising the SLIF. This event will be an ideal platform for Sri Lanka to attract foreign direct investments in diverse domains, SLASSCOM is delighted to partner with CCC, CSE, and BOI to promote the IT-BPM industry, ‘The Island of Ingenuity’ value proposition to the world.”

SLASSCOM Board Director Shiraz Lye explained that events of this nature are very essential to help brand and position Sri Lanka as one of Asia’s top investment destinations. The event covers policy and regulatory frameworks for ease of doing business and future roadmap for trade and investment especially for the IT/BPM industry, capacity and skills development strategies by government, academia and industry, including awareness of infrastructure and network readiness and growth plans. 

He further explained: “Investments in IT/BPM industry commenced 25 years ago, and we were one of the first in Asia to open up. In spite of challenges throughout the years, the industry has been growing at a steady pace and is now the fourth-highest export revenue earner. Many global companies came and set up operations since its inception and have been successful in fulfilling their goals. SLASSCOM has reached out to these companies to share their journey of success at the IT/BPM breakout sessions during all three days of the event, and it would be interesting to hear and learn from them.”

SLASSCOM, acting as the catalyst of growth by facilitating trade and business, propagation of talent, education and employment, encouraging research and innovation, and by supporting the creation of a forward-thinking and progressive national policy framework, will continue to partner with key events of this nature, and work closely with both the Government and relevant public and private entities to drive this agenda forward. SLASSCOM is supported in all their initiatives by their Corporate Sponsor Dialog Enterprise.