BOI’s ‘Investing in Sri Lanka’ -seminar in Karachi

The BOI last week held a seminar in Karachi to promote investment into Sri Lanka to some 60 of Pakistan’s top enterprises at the Marriott Hotel in Karachi. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Pakistani Chambers of Industry and the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Business Council participated at this event.

To companies present included the Siddiqson Group and the Baig Group, both engaged in textiles. The sectors represented at the seminar included pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers, textile manufacturing, infrastructure developers, coconut product importers, fruit processing, IT/ software industrialists.

The welcome speech was made by V.S. Sidath Kumar, the Consul General of Sri Lanka in Karachi and this was followed by a speech delivered by Arif Elahi, Director General of the Board of Investment of Pakistan.

Mano Wijeratne, Minister of Enterprise Development of Sri Lanka, speaking on behalf of the Sri Lankan delegation, described the current economic and investment relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Pakistani entrepreneurs were invited to take advantage of the many benefits Sri Lanka offers to investors.

Prof. Lakshman R.Watawala, Chairman/ Director General of the BOI made a presentation titled ‘Investment Opportunities in Sri Lanka”.

The presentation covered in detail the advantages Sri Lanka has to offer investors, the country’s geographic positioning, excellent connections to the outside world, the regime of incentives that investors are entitled to, the target sectors sought by Sri Lanka.

The potential areas identified for investment in Sri Lanka was mainly in the manufacture of textile fabrics, pharmaceuticals, in the garment industry, cultivation and processing of fruits and vegetables, IT education and the interest of a leading international educational establishment to set up a primary and secondary education school.

A presentation was made by MAS Industries giving details of the Thulhiriya Textile Fabric Zone where Pakistani enterprises were invited to set up manufacturing plants at the zone. MAS industries highlighted the very competitive rates of the infrastructur offered to investors.