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| Thursday, 19 August 2004 |
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Germany signs investor agreements for Rs. 11.6 billion by Sudarshana Perera The Sri Lanka-Germany Business Council would attract more German investments in Sri Lanka as the balance of trade was favourable to Sri Lanka last year. Germany has signed investor agreements for 121 projects to the value of Rs 11.6 billion of which Rs 8.2 billion accounts for foreign equity and Rs 3.4 billion local equity. President, Sri Lanka-Germany Business Council, H.A. Reuter told the Annual General Meeting in Colombo that exports which accounted for Rs 14.8 billion in 1998 increased gradually to reach Rs. 22.1 billion in 2003. "Imports which were on a downward trend in 1999 - from Rs. 13 billion in 1998 to Rs 9.5 billion in 1999 started to pick up in 2000 totalling Rs 11.8 billion. Imports recorded an increase of 18%. Trade with Germany accounted for 4.64% of the total Sri Lankan trade in terms of exports and 2.19% imports", Reuter said. Speaking on tourism, he said that German tourist arrivals increased by 6.8% from 55,170 in 2002 to 58,908 in 2003. With the promotional work undertaken by the Tourist Board, there is much scope for further developments in the tourism sector. German tourists were the third-largest group after UK citizens and Indians. "We would continue to organise trade fairs, seminars and interactive meetings to assist in attracting more investments and joint ventures", he said. German Ambassador, Juergen Weerth pledged his fullest cooperation to further develop trade ties between the two countries and added that permanent peace is vital for stable economic growth. "We would extend our fullest support to the Sri Lankan government while taking steps to promote Sri Lanka as a safe tourist destination in Germany", he said. In 2003, Germany was ranked sixth as an importer of Sri Lankan goods and 15th as a supplier of goods to Sri Lanka. Germany's main imports from Sri Lanka are textiles, tea, rubber and jewellery. Its principal exports to Sri Lanka are machinery, electrical and chemical products as well as ironware. Germany is traditionally one of Sri Lanka's most important partners in the tourist industry. Around 58,908 German tourists visited Sri Lanka in 2003, the third-largest group after UK citizens and Indians. Trade and investment figures show a positive trend but also reflect the fact that the potential for bilateral economic co-operation is far from being exhausted. According to the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) Germany ranks as Sri Lanka's fourth largest investor in terms of approved projects (148) with an accumulated investment of around 176 million US $. For Sri Lanka which is on its way to industrialisation and which aims at increasing the share of high-tech industries and of the services sector, Germany's advanced industrial technology and the highly organised services sector are first rate choices. |
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