‘Time right for heavier investment in Sri Lanka’
Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA
From left: Kumara Semage, President, Sri Lanka - Poland Business
Council, Piotr Klodkowski, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland
and Ken Balendra, Consul General for Poland in Sri Lanka.
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The Sri Lanka - Poland Business Council is keen on promoting
bilateral trade and investment and also supporting the growing tourism
industry in Sri Lanka.
Poland has coped with the effects of the global crisis much better
than other countries. Domestic demand was the main factor driving the
Polish Economy in recent times. Household consumer spending was on the
rise,” Ambassador of the Republic of Poland based in India, Prof. Piotr
Klodkowski said.
“Poland is the largest of the ten mainly Central and Eastern European
countries that joined the EU in May 2004. After distinguishing itself
during communist times as a key centre of steel making and shipbuilding,
Poland has branched out into a more diversified export base with the EU
as its most important export market, he said addressing the participants
at the briefing session on ‘Current market opportunities in Poland’
organized by the Sri Lanka - Poland Business Council recently.
The main objective of the Council is to promote trade, investment and
tourism between Poland and Sri Lanka.
The trade promotion activities carried out by the Council has
contributed notably to the strengthening of relationships and increased
business between the two countries, Sri Lanka - Poland Business Council
of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce President Kumara Semage said.
He emphasized on the importance of attracting investment from Poland
to Sri Lanka, since it has not reached the level of expectations in the
past due to many reasons. “We feel that the time is right for heavier
investment by Poland in Sri Lanka. While we know that the government of
Poland is very well disposed towards our country and has been very
generous in its aid, we think that the businessmen from Poland, who are
quite rightly concerned with the bottom line, would do well to examine
closely the performance of companies in the private sector here”, he
said.
The growth rate of profits of some of the well-run companies in our
private sector has been far above average for other countries in the
region despite the financial crisis in Europe and USA.
The Council will be organizing a trade, investment, tourism and
services promotion mission to Poland and Bulgaria in May 2012 and
invited companies to join the delegation.
The number of visas issued for Sri Lankans travelling to Poland has
increased considerably in recent times.
Sri Lankan entrepreneurs should establish joint ventures for food
processing with prospective Polish investors taking into consideration
the potential for processed food industry in Sri Lanka, Consul General
for Poland in Sri Lanka Ken Balendra said.
Poland is among the world leaders in the production of many
industrial goods. It belongs to the world's top 10 producers of refined
copper, nitrogenous and phosphate fertilizers, sulphur, hard coal and
brown coal, and is one of the top 20 producers of ships, power stations
equipment, machinery for mines, food processing units, sulphuric acid,
cement, crude steel, TV receivers, passenger cars and trucks and
electric energy. |