Sri Lanka open for business

Lanka investment mission visits US.:

Generating an unprecedented scale of response from the private sector entrepreneurs in the United States (US), a major investment promotional drive launched by Sri Lanka across four major cities in the US. The campaign, carried out from July 20-24, included series of activities in Los Angeles, San Jose, New York and Washington D.C.

The success is primarily due to the untiring efforts and planning by the Board of Investment (BOI) and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington D.C., who worked in close collaboration with the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York.

Minister of Enterprise Development, Investment Promotion and Media, Anura Priyadhashana Yapa, had the opportunity of meeting with enthusiastic American business leaders in New York and Washington, D.C., as investors showed strong interest in post-conflict Sri Lanka.

The end of the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - LTTE had ushered in a new era for the country's economy. "At this crucial time in our history, our main objective is to expand the economy of Sri Lanka as far as we can," said Minister Yapa at the Harvard Club of New York and the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C.

As many as 80 business leaders attended the investment forum in New York, at least 30 of whom had specific business proposals, according to Duminda Ariyasinghe, Executive Director of the BOI.

Ariyasinghe outlined the sectors open for foreign investments, the incentives and the benefits the foreign investors in Sri Lanka could enjoy as part of a vast regional market that includes free trade agreements that Sri Lanka has with India and Pakistan.

The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC) was closely associated in organizing the investment forum at the Harvard Club. The MCC represents the voice of over 100,000 companies in Manhattan and partner with over 300 diverse business organizations in the city.

The MCC member companies, which have approximately 4.5 million employees globally, account for over $630 billion in annual revenue.

The New York investment forum also marked the inauguration of the newly formed US-Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce (USSLCC) - a timely initiative by the Sri Lanka Mission to the UN and the Embassy in Washington DC.

The chamber already brings together over twenty-five private sector firms, owned primarily by expatriate Sri Lankan entrepreneurs based in the New York Tri-state region.

The MCC, one of the premier trade chambers in New York, and the infant chamber signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster closer linkages between the business community of the two countries. Following their signing of the MoU, Ms. Nancy Ploeger and Anil J Vitharana, presidents of the two chambers, addressed the gathering.

In Washington DC, over 40 business representatives attended the investment briefing at the US Chamber of Commerce on July 24. In addition, the meeting also included the participation of top US trade officials, including Michael Delaney, Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asian Affairs and Ms. Holly Vineyard, Deputy Asst. Secretary for Africa, the Middle East and South Asia at the US Commerce Department.

The Assistant USTR for South Asia Michael Delaney said that he was impressed with the huge potential the post-conflict Sri Lanka holds for foreign investors. Delaney, who visited Sri Lanka twice over the last couple of months, would be leading an official delegation to Colombo in October this year for the next round of talks under the US-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

Sri Lanka's ambassador to the US, Jaliya Wickramasuriya said "Having defeated terrorism after nearly thirty years of war, Sri Lanka's investment potential has become stronger and promising. The country is well set for a bright economic future."

The ambassador urged the US private sector to have a fresh look at Sri Lanka and make use of the unique investment opportunities the island offers to the international business community.

He also invited them to join the private-public partnership conference, which will be held in Colombo in October this year on the sidelines of the TIFA talks.

The US Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations.

The Washington meeting took place on the same day that the International Monetary Fund in Washington approved a $2.5 billion standby loan facility for Sri Lanka.

Minister Yapa said that there are over 75 U.S. companies currently in Sri Lanka with direct foreign investment of $200 million. The immediate goal, is to expand that investment to $1 billion.

Deputy Director General (Investment and Promotion) of Sri Lanka's Board of Investment, A.M.C. Kulasekera and Duminda Ariyasinghe took part in a business roundtable at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce with about 20 participants. After the session, they held one-on-one meetings with potential Sri Lankan investors, including a dairy company.

Kulasekera and Ariyasinghe briefed about 40 potential investors on the economic situation in Sri Lanka and prospects for foreign investment in a post-conflict economy.

The Sri Lankan Board of Investment officials met in San Jose, Calif., with representatives of a Japanese automobile spare parts company that is contemplating establishing a production facility in Sri Lanka. The company already operates in other Asian nations but is considering relocating to Sri Lanka.

The pair also met with a shrimp farming company that wants to locate in Sri Lanka to produce shrimp but also extract glucosamine from shrimp shells. Glucosamine is a dietary supplement that is used to treat arthritis.

A third meeting involved talks with a developer who wants to establish a 100-acre eco-park in Sri Lanka, a facility that will grow herbs while serving as a resort. Other meetings involved discussions with a condominium developer and an investment portfolio management firm.

The San Jose visit closed with a meeting between Kulasekera and Ariyasinghe and a senior vice president of Google, the internet search engine company.

Those discussions involved the status of Sri Lanka's internet technology and how Google may outsource some of its activities to Sri Lanka.

The Office of the USTR and the Embassy are already working very closely in attracting as many private sector firms as possible to the October conference.

In addition to the private-public partnership conference, the participants will also have an opportunity to meet senior policy makers in the Sri Lankan government.

Arrangements are also under way to take them to Tincomalie, so that they will have a first-hand look at the emerging investment opportunities in the region.

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington invited the investment delegation to visit the US, working with the consulates in Los Angeles and New York to organize the meetings.

The embassy is also planning to form a US-Sri Lanka Business Council to promote mutually beneficial trade and investment links between the two countries.