Sri Lanka is an important market for property developers

Sri Lanka remains one of the key important markets in terms of property development in the  residential, commercial and retail and the hospitality sector. “We are here to show commitment to Sri Lanka which is a key market in the region,” said Jules Kay, Managing Director, Property Guru Asia Property Awards at a media briefing held at the Movenpick hotel in Colombo this week.

He said the Asia Property Award 2020 is one of the region’s largest real estate series covering 15 markets across Asia and the fourth property award ceremony will be held this year on the 17th July 2020 in Sri Lanka at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo to reward the best projects, the best designs and the best developers in the region. 
Participants from counties in the region like Australia, Malaysia, the Philipines Singapore, Thailand, China and Sri Lanka will compete in the grand final for the best developers and projects in Asia. 

Last year the property award ceremony was held in Bangkok where Sri Lanka also won some awards. “The property awards is known for its transparency, credibility and for its independent judging that attracts players from the region,” he said. Mr. Kay is one of the original team members of Asia Property awards having rejoined the business in 2019 in the leadership role.

Dr. Nirmal de Silva, Director/CEO of Paramount Reality and the Chairperson of the Judging Panel, said that he had the honour of serving the panel with seven more judges from various disciplines. 

“The track record of a company matters a lot when judging by looking at the design and the location. In a developing country like Sri Lanka we are competing with international players and in the future we see more developers catering to the retiree population.” 

Dr. de Silva is an award winning business professional with close to two decades of senior management experience in the Asia Pacific Region. He was instrumental in setting up operations for Regus PLC , the largest flexible workspace provider in Sri Lanka. Dr. de Silva is an Associate Professor and visiting lecturer for a number of universities.

Another official Sasanka Rathnaweera said that they are expecting many developers to particicpate at the awards ceremony. The present government had removed the Value Added Tax and Nation Building Tax from December last year and in January this year reduced income tax from 28 per cent to 14 per cent. “What we can see is that the government is trying to give much benefit to the industry,” he said.
Dr. Jagath Munasinghe, President - Institute of Town Planners Sri Lanka, said the property sector in Sri Lanka always prospered although there were few setbacks such as the Easter Sunday attacks last year. There is a demand for office and residential space in Sri Lanka. (JJ)