Sri Lankan expat workers get same wage as Korean counterparts
In the 1990s South Korea was the largest investor in Sri Lanka, but today these investments have been reduced to very low level.
A more positive development is that expatriate Sri Lankan workers are on par with their Korean counterparts – receiving the same wage.
This was one of the important elements of presentation/discussion on ‘Bilateral Trade between Sri Lanka and Korea” held last week at the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL).
Jongmoon Choi, Korean Ambassador in Sri Lanka answering a query from a journalist said that he would not have the exact figures of Korean investments in 2012 but noted that only about two Korean factories were opened in Sri Lanka last year.
The discussion appeared to be a genuine attempt by the NCCSL to revive and promote Korean investments and to export more and more Sri Lankan products to Korea. The assurances given by the Korean Ambassador at this forum also shows that Korea too is interested in these promotions.
He said that last year only 8,000 Koreans travelled to Sri Lanka, but said that they expect to see around 100,000 Koreans visiting Sri Lanka in the next four to five years. He said that they are in contact with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and other authorities to promote Korean investment in Sri Lanka.
He said that Korea has been involved in the development activities in Sri Lanka and has given loans and grants in the fields of road construction, water supply, hospital upgrading, promotion of E-government, vocational training, construction of government buildings and environment to the tune of US$474 million. He said that there are hundreds of Sri Lankans working in Korea which has increased the job quota for Sri Lanka. He said that in the Korean job market there is no differentiation between Sri Lankan and Korean workers as both are paid equal salaries. Korean investment volume in Sri Lanka is $170 million whereas in Cambodia it is $1billion, suggesting that there is much more scope for Korean investment here.
He said that they are prepared to assist those who want to export products from Sri Lanka and invited the prospective exporters to contact the Embassy to see in what way they could help these exporters.
During the discussion that followed, an industrialist, who has his factory in Narammala which exports coir fibre dust to Korea, said that they have to pay taxes ranging from 3 to 10 per cent whereas exporters from some other countries pay zero tax in exprts to Korea. He urged Korean Embassy and NCCSL to look into this matter and find some redress for them.
Ayesh Latibu, AGM, Lalan Eco – Latex (Pvt) Ltd raising the same issue said that they export latex from natural rubber and they are one of the three companies doing such exports. He said that there are around 10 manufacturers in the world. He said that their exports too are subject to 3 to 10 per cent tax in Korea which affects their sales.
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