Sri Lanka’s Abans Group acquires agency for Korea’s Hyundai
Abans Group of Sri Lanka, which has interests in consumer durables, property and auto distribution, has reportedly acquired the agency for Korea’s Hyundai.
An official from Abans Group has been quoted as saying that the company is currently recovering from a drop in consumer demand.
“We will add on more related products to existing portfolio. For example, within the electronic space, or we might add some new brands,” Group Chief Executive, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyratne has been quoted as saying.
“There are always new businesses that we keep looking at. We have just acquired agency for Hyundai cars.”
Abans has also built Colombo City Centre with Singapore based Next Story group, a US$ 180 million mixed development with a shopping mall and apartments of which the mall has already been opened, the local media has reported.
According to reports, Sri Lanka’s consumer sector was hit by the Easter Sunday attacks in April and there was drop in demand with people staying at home, curfews and uncertainly.
“I think things are moving back to normal on that front,” Wijeyratne has told the local media. “As a mall we are getting excited for the holidays, and the upcoming season.”
People are also watching upcoming Presidential elections, he has observed.
“One can sense that people are holding back a little bit till the election. So I think that will hopefully clear a past election,” he has further added.
OSL take:
The tie up between Sri Lanka’s Abans Group and Korea’s Hyundai is indicative of the confidence placed in Sri Lankan businesses by foreign companies. Lanka has a strong and vibrant private sector due to the positive economic policies and the ease of doing business environment in the country. Also, Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean region and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made it a much sought after business/investment destination in the South Asian region. All these factors also helped Sri Lanka to return to normalcy in a short period of time after suffering a setback following the Easter Sunday attacks in April.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/01092019/Z_3 |