Financial Times

Swiss investors monitoring Lankan developments
By Quintus Perera
Swiss investors, who are generally conservative, are closely watching the events in Sri Lanka before embarking on any investment, Thomas Stahli, Attaché, Political and Economical Affairs, Embassy of Switzerland in Sri Lanka, told The Sunday Times FT.

Speaking on the sidelines of the "Regaining Sri Lanka - Invest in Our Infrastructure INTRAD 2003 - Exhibition and Investor Forum" held at the BMICH last week, he said media coverage of recent political events referring to the state of emergency being in force was a setback to efforts to attract investors here.

The Presidential Secretarial has denied it either issued orders for a state of emergency or ever planned, after foreign news networks reported on emergency rule.
The Exhibition and the Investors Forum was organized by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL). More than 60 investors/Service Providers from 15 countries took part.

Stahli said they were still hopeful that things would improve next year while a trade delegation from Switzerland was expected in Sri Lanka though the dates are yet to be fixed.

At the exhibition, James A S Tan, Assistant Sales Manager, Exquisite Products Manufacturing (M) SDN.DHD, Co Malaysia said his company manufactures refrigerators, cold rooms, ice-cream processors etc. and their products are marketed through their local agents.

He said with large scale poultry industry, food products and agriculture sector they felt a high market potential. Peter W Nowson, a chartered building consultant from Draughting & Field Services, United Kingdom said that he was invited by NCCSL and had two main interests - large construction projects such as roads, power lines and large buildings and small scale tourism.

He has visited a number of plantation companies to arrange small scale holidays and the response was very encouraging. Prof. G. L. Peiris, Minister of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy, Investment Promotion and Constitutional Affairs who declared open the exhibition, said the availability of high calibre human resources, highly developed banking and legal structures should place Sri Lanka at the top of any investors' list.

He said the November 4 political crisis provided an opportunity to work for a civil consensus to flush out the acrimonious and confrontational political culture that has ruined the country. Asoka de Z Gunasekera, President, NCCSL said that the private sector of this country was conscious of their responsibility to move the country's economy forward and the prime prerequisite for it would be investor confidence. Peace and stability is the forerunner to build this confidence.

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