French business delegation visits Sri Lanka

The Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Economic Department of the French Embassy in New Delhi have taken the initiative to encourage French companies based in India to join an official business mission in Sri Lanka.

The purpose of this mission is to invite French subsidiaries in India to explore investment opportunities to contribute to the economic development of Sri Lanka.

The French business delegation which comprises nine business people representing seven large scale companies from France will meet members of the Government, senior officials and private counterparts.

Their core activity spans from infrastructure (Veolia: transport, environment, energy efficiency; Systra: urban and intercity rail transport, EDF: power generation, transport, distribution; Freyssinet Meynard: cable stays technology for bridges and other structures) to oil (Total), hospitality (Accor) and financial services (BNP Paribas).

France welcomes the recent positive economic developments in Sri Lanka, in particular regarding fiscal policy including an ambitious tax reform.

French companies will have a special interest in assessing the contribution of these measures but also other incentives to facilitate their investment, sale or lending decisions.

They will also look at the global scenario for business environment, like good governance, timely decision process making, adequate infrastructure, financial capacity and growth perspectives.

Two ways trade between Sri Lanka and France is ramping up with 127 million euros export from France and 186 million euros import from Sri Lanka. French companies with investment in Sri Lanka employ around 4,000.