Sri Lanka’s Hambantota attracts major pharmaceutical companies from India’s Gujarat
Daily News: Major players of the Pharmaceutical industry in Gujarat India are keen on investing in the pharma zone in Hambantota, said Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Gujarat state Council, Vinod Agrawal.
He was speaking at the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Mumbai organised webinar and an investor interaction event to promote investment opportunities in Sri Lanka targeting the investor and business community in Gujarat, which is one of the most industrialised and richest states in India. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)/Gujarat Chapter and Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka partnered with the Consulate to organise this strategic investment webinar recently.
To facilitate Sri Lankan governments’ efforts to attract FDIs and non-debt foreign currency inflows, the event was titled ‘Strengthening Bilateral Trade and Investment Opportunities with Sri Lanka’ primarily exploring potential investment opportunities in Sri Lanka for BOI’s strategic development projects based out of its newly established pharmaceutical zone in Arabokka and textile zone in Eravur.
Agrawal said that the Consul of Sri Lanka in Mumbai and the CII have already agreed to explore the possibility of organising an investor delegation from the Gujarat Pharma sector to visit Sri Lanka soon to pursue this investment. Consul General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai Dr. Valsan Vethody, stated that already, there are more than 65 major Indian companies in 35 major sectors and that Sri Lanka significantly contributes towards its economic growth, rebuilding of infrastructure, technology transfer, employment generation and strengthening bilateral relations.
Speaking about the current investment climate, he said that the Investment environment in Sri Lanka, unlike the earlier days, has already undergone tremendous improvement.
Sri Lanka’s unique strengths such as its unique geostrategic position, robust institutions, social infrastructure, political stability, highly skilled workforce, world class infrastructure, quality of life and widespread connectivity, etc. – all will be leveraged to set the platform to achieve Sri Lanka’s ambition to double the national output, to US$ 8,000 per capita GDP, from its current level, by 2030.”
Governor of Central Bank (CBSL), Ajith Nivard Cabraal in his address appreciated the efforts by the Consul General in promoting Sri Lanka’s interests in the western region of India and invited the Indian investors to benefit from the investment opportunities available in Sri Lanka at the moment.
He further provided the assurance that each and every concern of investors coming to Sri Lanka will be addressed.
Prasanjith Wijayathilake, Executive Director for Investment promotion of BOI made a comprehensive presentation on investment opportunities available in Sri Lanka. Following the webinar, sectoral focused discussions on exploring investment opportunities in the areas of pharmaceutical, textile, ICT, infrastructure and food processing industries were discussed.
The event was coordinated by Sandun Sameera, Consul (Commercial) of the Sri Lanka Mission in Mumbai.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s expanding economy has opened up a host of business/investment opportunities covering all key economic sectors. The many trade agreements as well as concessions enjoyed by the country have also helped boost Sri Lanka’s image as a trading hub in the region. Also, the country’s manufacturing and exports sectors have shown a steady growth even amidst pandemic challenges. It is in this backdrop that many foreign businesses/investors have expressed interest in exploring opportunities in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/07012022/Z_4 |