SL opens doors to FDI from down under

Wednesday, 6 April 2016 00:54 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka, backed by an International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrangement, is ready for foreign investment from Australia said Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday.

Kicking off a visit to the land down under Samaraweera was enthusiastic of the ties between the two nations and insisted Sri Lanka was in need for investment to complete the transition that began with the presidential election in January 2015.

“We are leveraging Sri Lanka’s unique geo-economic position at the centre of the emerging world – located in the Middle of the Indian Ocean, next to the main East-West Sea Route and at the mouth of the Indian Sub-Continent – by improving market access for Sri Lankan goods and services in the Indian and Pakistani markets. We are building on existing free trade agreements with India and Pakistan and we are in negotiations to sign a free trade agreement with China,” he said at a business lunch in Melbourne.

However, if Sri Lanka is to kickstart her economy FDI is essential, he pointed out adding the Government is making Sri Lanka an investor’s paradise as well.

“We are working hard to cut-red tape, ensure investor security and improve Sri Lanka’s infrastructure, which is already the best in the region. We are reforming our tax system which is holding back our rank on the Doing Business Index, where we are already ranked the easiest place to do business in South Asia.”

“But while we are located in South Asia, we are benchmarking ourselves against South East Asia. We are also streamlining the investment process with a one-stop investment shop in the form of the Agency for Development, which will also have significant private sector involvement. We have excellent ports, airports and roadways; in fact Colombo Port is the busiest in South Asia,” he said.

Sri Lanka particularly needs “considerable investment in tertiary education – including vocational education, ocean industries and our diary sector.”

Sri Lankan firms have invested over 200 million dollars in Australia, compared to the 60 million dollars Australian firms have invested in Sri Lanka, the Foreign Minister noted. With the opportunities opening up in Sri Lanka and her neighbors its time to reverse that ratio, Samaraweera told the gathering, adding Sri Lanka’s burgeoning tourism sector, underdeveloped diary industry and rich but unexploited ocean offers excellent value propositions for Australian leisure, diary, fishing and aquaculture and offshore sectors.

He pointed out that in recent years Australia has become the home of over 120,000 persons of Sri Lankan origin – with an eclectic mix of Burghers, Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese. Australia is also a favoured destination for Sri Lanka students: over 5500 Sri Lankans are studying at Australian universities. SriLankan Airlines opened its first office in Australia, here in Melbourne, in 2013 and airlines are exploring the possibility of re-commencing the direct flights between the two countries. Samaraweera also assured support from his Government for any investors.