Vikings eye Sri Lanka riches with government blessings
Tore Hattrem
The Vikings have landed in Sri Lanka. Truly. It might have been said in jest at this week’s ceremony to inaugurate the Norway Business Association Sri Lanka that the formidable raiders of yore had even come as far as the Island of Serendib, but their presence today is a given, and unlike their forebears they are very welcome. Especially if they come bringing investment from their sovereign fund, which according to visiting Norwegian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tore Hattrem is miniscule at the moment – only US$31 million – but has the potential to grow exponentially. Mr. Hattrem, a former ambassador to Sri Lanka, now up the rankings, revealed that the Norwegian Pension Fund, the biggest sovereign fund in the world ($1 trillion) had ventured boldly and invested in Sri Lanka hoping the Sri Lankan government and the local business community would take this sign as a support of confidence.
“The future of Sri Lanka lies in opening up to foreign investment and Norway would like to be a partner,” said Mr. Hattrem addressing the large gathering at the business networking reception last Wednesday. His local counterpart Dr. Harsha De Silva had previously outlined the areas in which Sri Lanka was looking for investment and collaboration with overseas partners – oil and gas; marine and maritime; renewable energy; ICT (Information and Communications Technology); and tourism sectors. Welcoming his “old” friend Hattrem back to Sri Lanka, the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, briefly outlined the scope of each area revealing that the Sri Lanka government was already talking to Oslo about the regulatory aspects of the oil and gas industry. “I hope companies (from Norway) will take an interest in this sector as well as others like offshore fish farming,” Dr. De Silva said.
“As far as renewable energy is concerned, I know two Norwegian companies are keen to get involved in solar and wind projects. Our government is opening up this industry to the private sector and I hope there will be more interest from Norway. ” “In tourism, there has been a 30 per cent surge in numbers from Norway last year but this is still small when you consider that the total number of visitors was just 12,000. Sri Lanka is one of the most peaceful countries in the world today and this is a sector which has huge potential. “But the most important sector is ICT. In this field, 50 of the top 500 companies in Europe and the rest of the world come from Norway. This is the backbone of all industry and we are very keen for increased cooperation,” Dr. De Silva added. Mr. Hattrem, who was posted to Kabul, Afghanistan from Colombo in 2010 in his ambassadorial role before going back home to move up the diplomatic ladder, promised increased cooperation.
“My government is convinced enhanced cooperation between our two countries is in our best interest. We will help in any way we can especially in ICT in the education sector where we will welcome any programme to help young children and women,” Minister Hattrem said. There is already a strong relationship between the two countries in the ICT industry. Mano Sekaram, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM), proudly revealed that the industry was close to reaching the magical mark of $1 billion in exports. “It has taken us 15 years to reach this position. Today we export around $850 million and will reach a billion soon. Our target is to become a $5 billion industry creating 200,000 jobs,” said Mr. Sekaram. He pointed out that Sri Lankan software ran the Oslo Stock Exchange as well as giant e-commerce network e-Bay and travel website Expedia. The Vikings might have reached our shores now but our raiders are already making it big overseas.