Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2012 to be held in July

The Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2012, the flagship event of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be held from July10 to 12 at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo under the theme Positioning Sri Lanka in the Global Economy.

This forum is the Ceylon Chamber's key initiative to identify and address future economic and commercial issues to develop appropriate strategic plans to meet these challenges.

This year's event will comprise of technical sessions titled Sri Lankan Economy in Perspective, Moving Beyond Conflict, Opportunities in Emerging Markets, Branding Sri Lanka, Skills and Productivity to Compete in the Global Market, Ease of Doing Business, Sri Lanka Ranked 89. Fact or Fiction? Investing in Sri Lanka and Positioning Sri Lanka in the Global Economy. World renowned speakers will share their insights as speakers and panelists at the eight sessions of the summit.

This year's theme has been selected after much deliberation and the Ceylon Chamber believes that it is apt to review Sri Lanka's positioning in the global economy at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2012. This is of great significance in the context of changes in the global economy, with slow recovery of the western economies and Asia gaining ground. Sri Lanka with a population of 21 million people is a lower middle income country with a per capita of US$ 2800.

The ambitious vision set out for the country by its leadership of achieving 9 to 10% growth in the medium term necessitates the country to adopt an outward looking development strategy.

Sri Lanka's merchandise exports were estimated at 17.8% of GDP in 2011 and with annual services exports averaging around 3.5% of GDP, total exports for 2011 is estimated at around 21.5% of GDP. Sri Lank's socio economic situation requires that it expands its overseas markets for goods and services to enhance its economic growth to reach the targeted level and thereafter to sustain it at such levels.

Similarly, with relatively low national savings of around 25% of GDP and with foreign direct investment at under 2% of GDP, Sri Lanka must attract more foreign investments to increase the total investments to the desired levels.

In this setting, the 13th Sri Lanka Economic Summit will bring together a cross section of policy makers, cabinet ministers, key government officials, private sector leaders, academics, representatives of international organizations and top corporate personnel in the country to discuss a strategy to effectively position Sri Lanka in the global economy in this Asian Century.

The Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2012 is the ultimate platform to gain a comprehensive understanding of the county's economy, the investment climate and the diverse opportunities available for investors and businessmen.

It also brings together the top corporate leadership of the country and the region with government officers and other stakeholders to one platform providing a great networking opportunity. A large number of participants are expected to be drawn from both the private and public sectors in Sri Lanka and abroad.

More information about the Sri Lanka Economic Summit can be obtained from www.chamber.lk.