Sri Lanka’s first grease manufacturing plant being completed by Lanka IOC
Lanka IOC Ltd. is nearing the completion of work on Sri Lanka’s first grease manufacturing plant in the Eastern Province district of Trincomalee is nearing completion by the Lanka IOC Ltd.
The move is expected to help save valuable foreign exchange since the country’s requirement is currently being met entirely by imports.
According to reports, the company had commenced construction work on the ground breaking venture early this year and is estimated to have invested Rs. 200 million. The plant’s capacity of 3,000 tons is capable of meeting the entire market demand in Sri Lanka.
“The works for the proposed grease plant in Trincomalee are already in progress and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. This strategic investment will benefit the country as it’ll generate foreign exchange savings by manufacturing the requirement locally,” LIOC Chairman Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra has reportedly told shareholders in the company’s Annual Report for FY20 released recently.
He has said that the infrastructure development which is proposed will certainly augur well for LIOC, with increased demand for petroleum products.
LIOC Managing Director Manoj Gupta has said the commissioning of the grease plant is “in line with the Government’s policy for import substitution,” as the country’s grease product requirement is met from imports.
“The new grease plant provides a cost advantage against imported grease, thus offering immense prospects of expanding our sales volumes. This would also conserve foreign exchange whilst creating employment opportunities and generating revenue to the Government through value addition,” Gupta has added in his review.
During the year under review, the company has reportedly achieved a profit-after-tax of Rs. 422 million, which reflects a moderate gain of around 5% compared to Rs. 403 million in FY19.
The company’s net profit-before-tax had increased significantly during the year to Rs. 599 million from Rs. 331 million, driven by the strategic focus on diversifying its operations from the auto-fuel segment to the high-yielding bunkering, lubricant and bitumen segments that drove growth in both business volumes and margins.
OSL take:
Business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka are continuing to expand along with the economic expansion in the country. Sri Lanka’s key economic sectors were on a growth path when affected by the global Covid 19 pandemic. However, The country’s economy has shown resilience and the government of Sri Lanka has recommenced Sri Lanka’s development programme. Also, Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made it a business hub in the South Asian region. Foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/21112020/Z_2 |