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| Sri Lanka Invites Indian Investors, Offers Attractive Incentives |
| Announcement / Economy Nov 02, 2009, 20:04 IST |
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Mr Dinesh Gunawardena, Sri Lanka's Cabinet Minister for Urban Development & Sacred Areas Development, has invited Indian businessmen to invest in various sectors of his country.
Having successfully ended the three-decade long feud with the LTTE rebels in the northeast of the island, peace has returned to Sri Lanka paving way for all-round development of its various regions by using indigenous resources and foreign technologies and capital through joint ventures, he said.
"The Sri Lankan Board of Investment is very liberal in offering opportunities to foreign investors in almost all economic sectors, barring of course in the agricultural sector. It offers land on long-term lease to investors for setting up industries, in addition to tax holidays and guaranteed repatriation of profits and capital.", Mr Gunawardena said.
Accompanied by his colleague in the government, Mrs. Sumedha Jayasena, Minister for Women, Youth and Refugee Affairs, Mr Gunawardena was addressing an interactive meeting organized by Indian Merchants Chamber on October 30. Among the dignitaries present on the occasion was India's former Mnister for Power, Mr Suresh Prabhu, MP.
The IMC President, Mr Gul Kripalani, introduced all the dignitaries. He also promptly accepted Mr Gunawardena's invitation to lead a delegation of the IMC to visit his country.
Mrs Sumedha Jayasena, who lost her husband in terrorist violence, was from an economically backward district which was potentially rich in mineral deposits. Sri Lankan women were generally well educated and their social status was rated quite high. The country held the 14th rank among nations globally in respect of gender equality.
She invited collaboration from Indian entrepreneurs and organizations aimed at improving the socioeconomic and political status of women in Sri Lanka and also for rehabilitation of internally displaced people. "In addition, we also welcome any programme offered by you for advancement of education, training, and healthcare facilities," she said.
Mr Gunawardena said that Sri Lanka and India shared a 2,600-year long common civilization and Buddhist religion. Lifestyle and philosophies of Hindu faith had also considerably influenced Sri Lankan people. Described as "the Pearl of Indian Ocean", the island also looked like a pendant hanging from the Indian subcontinent. Sri Lanka has an area of 25,000 sq miles, and it was home for people who were 92% literate. In the past four years, Sri Lanka was recording an impressive annual growth rate of 5.4%.
Sri Lanka offered attractive investment packages for developing its regional growth hubs in the east, south, west and North and for bolstering the civic and industrial infrastructure in various urban centres such as Colombo. Foreign investment was allowed in all key sectors such as ports, international airports, sport stadiums, housing & shopping complexes, tourism, energy, agricultural services, and such other projects.
"More specifically, the government is looking for foreign investment into the Jaffna Culture centre, Trincomalee Development project, tourist and other infrastructure needs of Colombo and of Panchagawa, which was the gateway to the national capital. We are a market economy, with an unparalleled strategic access to Indian Ocean countries,” Mr Gunawardena said.
"We have been receiving strong support from Indian industrial houses over the years. Post-tsunami, Indian government had extended generous assistance for rebuilding the local infrastructure and people's lives. India has also offered many lines of credit for increasing the mutual trade between the two countries," the Minister added.
Replying to a question, he said that there was scope for collaboration between Indian spinning industry and Sri Lankan apparel industry for trading with developed countries for surmounting the tariff walls erected by those countries. He also asserted that India and Sri Lanka were working out new ways for closer industrial and investment relationships. Indeed, the FTA signed between the two countries a few years ago had benefited both nations immensely.
Mr Suresh Prabhu gave his best wishes for the renewed bilateral efforts for opening new avenues for trade partnerships and urged people to create a congenial environment for bringing about a win-win situation for both the countries.
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