Indian apparel investors eye on Lanka

Hiran H. Senewiratne

Sri Lanka is becoming a preferred country among Indian fabric suppliers and dealers and it could easily attract and would pave the way to come and invest in Sri Lanka, said the Chairman of Sri Lanka Apparel Institute Prof. Lakdas Fernando.

“The organising international standard exhibitions like Apparel Industry Suppliers Exhibition (AISEX) and the Fabric and Accessory Sourcing Exhibition (FACE) would be able to attract a lot of buyers and dealers into the country. Both exhibitions will be held from November 6 to 8 in Colombo,” Prof. Fernando told at a media conference to announce the event.

He said this year they are hosting AISEX for the seventh time in 13 years. FASE is holding exhibitions for the third time. Therefore, they are putting a lot of effort into making Colombo a focal point in the South Asian region.

They are planning to forge links with professional bodies in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Then in turn it would strengthen regional marketing efforts to make the exhibition a truly regional event in the sector, he said.

Prof. Fernando also aid that last year they had more than 10,000 visitors and this year they are anticipating to double this amount. The Apparel Asia Conference will be held concurrently with the event which has the intention of attracting all apparel professionals in the South Asian region.

He said that AISEX is by now well known in the region. The number of exhibitors as well as visitors have been steadily increasing over the years because AISEX is one of the longest running exhibitions in the region. FASE is also positioned as a regional exhibition catering to apparel industry needs in the South Asian Region, he said.

This year organizers are also looking at hosting other apparel industry events, concurrent to the exhibitions, to generate greater publicity and interest in Sri Lanka as a regional apparel industry hub, he said.

Both exhibitions are organised by the Sri Lanka Apparel Institute and Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services Exhibition Centre supported by the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAFF), the umbrella apparel industry representative body of Sri Lanka.

He said that there will be several activities happening in Colombo during the time of the exhibitions to add value to these events.

For instance the University of Moratuwa will hold its graduation show which has already made its mark as a source of potential Designers and Product Developers for the industry during the same period.This would help generate interest in Sri Lanka as a Design Centre.

There will also be many opportunites for business meetings and factory visits, he said.