Billionaire business tycoon says Sri Lanka has immense potential and would benefit from strong ties with India
Nepali billionaire and business tycoon, Chairman of CG Corp Global Dr Binod Chaudhary whose business interests in Sri Lanka span a segment of pioneering leisure offerings, believes strongly that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his second term, will be able to usher in new developments not just for India but for the entire region, a news report in the local media states.
According to the report, Chaudhary who was invited to Prime Minister Modi’s swearing in ceremony May 30 at Rashtrapati Bhavan New Delhi, has always posited positive sentiments for the region, investing in eras of abject uncertainty as he did when he invested in Sri Lanka with the Taj Samudra during the war.
With Modi’s significantly larger mandate instilling immense confidence on his ability to accomplish not just his goals for India but for this South Asian region, Chaudhary believes Sri Lanka will benefit even more from this renewed leadership in India, the report further notes.
Looking back on the aftermath for the economy post the Easter attacks of April 2019, Chaudhary, who has always displayed immense love for Sri Lanka and continues to retain an infallible confidence in the country, recalls investing in Sri Lanka at a time when Colombo was akin to war zone.
“Business was at all time ebb as was the economy. But I’ve always had a positive feeling about Sri Lanka and the friends I have from this country have nurtured that feeling in me. I know that the potential Sri Lanka has is just immense.”
He has further opined, that he wasn’t wrong with his debut investment into the hospitality sector for CG Hospitality with the Taj Samudra back in 1998 and subsequent investments over the next 20 years, “and I’m not wrong about the next wave of growth the country will see in the months and years to come.”
Chaudhary who heads more than 130 companies in diverse sectors, including financial services, energy, education, hospitality and real estate spanning 30 countries and four continents has added that he has always been excited about taking calculated risk.
“I was very optimistic when I brought CG Corp into Sri Lanka and I’ve been able to work with some very visionary partners from then on,” he has said citing Jetwing, Ceylon Hotels Corporations and Hatton Plantations.
OSL take:
The statement by the Nepalese billionaire would undoubtedly boost confidence levels of foreign businesses/investors to engage with Sri Lanka. Apart from the business potential in the island nation, the government of Sri Lanka has taken many steps to improve the ease of doing business environment in the country. Also, Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country makes the island nation an ideal business destination for foreign businesses/investors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/10062019/Z_4 |