Sri Lanka’s Teejay Lanka Plc to engage in sales with Asian and African apparel factories
Teejay Lanka Plc in Sri Lanka, which is known as one of South Asia’s largest fabric mills, is reportedly looking at sales to new apparel factories being set up in Asia and Africa.
“The increasing trend of locating apparel manufacturing plants in South Asia and the African continent, offer a landscape of many opportunities for the Sri Lankan fabric industry,” Chairman Bill Lam has been quoted as telling shareholders in the company’s annual report.
He has stated that many global apparel manufacturers are relocating their apparel plants to South Asia from China, which has so far been the largest global garment producer.
According to Lam, this is due to changing US tariffs on Chinese products, and rising cost of labour in China.
Meanwhile, Teejay’s Chief Executive Shrihan Perera has been quoted as saying that factories being relocated from China will also help lower costs for the firm.
“A likely decline in demand for cotton in China who is also one of the two leading suppliers of cotton yarn in the global market, could help curtail prices of our key raw material,” he has stated.
According to him, there are only a few fabric mills present in Africa to compete with Teejay Lanka and the setting up of new apparel plants in the continent would offer Teejay sales opportunities, as Sri Lanka is located on a central maritime route to Africa.
Perera has further noted that new opportunities are also opening up in India, where leading global apparel brands are seeking to capture the spending of the growing middle class.
Since Teejay already has manufacturing facilities in India, the company is in a position to offer competitive costs and delivery times.
OSL take:
The expansion of Teejay Lanka into the Asian and African regions is indicative of the strength and growth of the private sector in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s economy is benefited by the country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as the trade concessions enjoyed by the country. Also, the continuous improvements in the ease of doing business environment in the country have also aided Sri Lanka’s overall economic growth. The country is now engaged in an aggressive development programme covering key economic sectors in all parts of the island. All this has resulted in Sri Lanka becoming the ideal business/investment destination in South Asia. Therefore, foreign businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka or look at forming joint ventures/partnerships with local companies.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/29072019/Z_5 |