BRICA helps Sri Lankan companies tap “Belt and Road Initiative”
The doors are now open for Sri Lankan companies to harness benefits of industrial investment economic and trade cooperation among 27 countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.
This has been made possible through a link-up between the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) and the Belt and Road Industrial and Commercial Alliance (BRICA) of China.
NCCSL recently received the membership of Chinese Business Alliance BRICA that will help to attract more investment and promote the interests of Sri Lankan business, Sujeeve Samaraweera, President of the National Chamber of Commerce revealed.
He noted that this new partnership will help to explore business and investment opportunities among BRICA member states while finding ways and means on how to avail the BRICA cooperative framework to facilitate economic, trade and industrial capacity cooperation between Sri Lankan firms and its BRICA counterparts.
In order to provide financial support to cooperation among BRICA members, and to implement the strategy and investment projects in the countries that have joined it, China has set up the Global Investment, Merger and Acquisition Fund Alliance, which already has over US$40 billion in authorised capital.
Sri Lanka should grab this opportunity while exploring new modes in international cooperation and global governance, Mr. Samaraweera emphasised.
This will be a great opportunity for an interactive and effective multilateral communication and cooperative mechanism among major industrial and commercial organisations worldwide, he said.
The NCCSL is the only chamber in Sri Lanka which has been accepted as a member of BRICA through its local affiliate Hairong Investments International Pvt Ltd.
Chairman of Hairong Pan Liang told a media conference in Colombo that there was a plan to build the biggest convention centre in the country with Chinese investments providing an opportunity to the island nation to increase its influence in the world through its strategic location.
He disclosed that around 50 Sri Lankan companies are expected to participate in the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Conclave 2018 (SEIC), a business matchmaking event jointly organised by NCCSL and Hairong at the Sri Lanka Embassy premises in Beijing on September 18 this year.
Hairong Managing Director, Dr.Palitha Kohona emphasised the need of exploring the possibility of attracting even a minor portion of the huge Chinese investment of $4 trillion-8 trillion in BRI related projects.
He added that Sri Lanka should carefully negotiate Chinese investments while protecting national interests and maintaining neutral status.
NCCSL has been officially invited to participate at a BRICA conference which will be held on October 18-19 this year in Istanbul, he revealed.