UNIDO ITPO Tokyo jointly with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan organized “Sri Lanka Investment Seminar (Online)” on 17 February 2022.
Followed by the Opening and Welcome Remarks by organizers, Mr. Prasanjith Wijayatilake, Executive Director, Investment Promotion Division of BOI introduced the advantages of investing in Sri Lanka and business opportunities. Mr. Wijayatilake mentioned that Sri Lanka, with 2 container terminals and 3 international airports, is the hub for trans-shipment in South Asia. He also mentioned that the country offers favorable business environment such as English-speaking and adaptive workforce, an access to 2.1 billion market across South Asia, Middle East and East Africa, and safety of foreign investments with no restrictions on foreign ownership.
Mr. Wijayathilake specified the 5 sectors including manufacturing, ICT, hospitality/tourism, agriculture/food processing, and construction/infrastructure as growth sectors. He further introduced business opportunities in industrial locations including Hambantota Pharmaceutical Zone, Bingiriya Export Processing Zone (EPZ), Bingiriya EPZ and Mirijjawila EPZ and encouraged Japanese businesses to consider investing in those zones.
Ms. Keiko Ishibashi, Managing Director of Lanka Precision Engineering Ltd. that manufactures precision stamping dies and their parts mentioned that the advantages of investing in Sri Lanka are mainly human resources and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India. With 28 years of experiences in Sri Lanka, Ms. Ishibashi mentioned that the country has workforce with craftsman spirit who excels in teamwork, which makes it easier for her company to retain qualified employees and their skills. As an example, she introduced that the company has accomplished machinery maintenance with a Swiss supplier completely online under the current pandemic circumstances. She emphasized that Sri Lanka is suitable for such industries where higher values can be added, rather than labor intensive type of industries.
Ms. Kyoko Wada from the Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS) introduced its assistance scheme of trainings for technical personnel. The Q&A session followed, with questions such as Sri Lanka’s policy for CO2 reduction, tax incentives and the country’s foreign debts.
Outline:
Date: 17 February 2022 (Thu)
Time: 14:00-15:10 (JST) / 10:30-11:40 (Sri Lanka time)
Format: Online seminar ※Live stream on zoom
Organized by: UNIDO ITPO Tokyo, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan
Language: English-Japanese with simultaneous translation
*You can download the presentation slides by clicking the presentation titles in the programme below.
Programme
14:00-14:05 Opening Remarks: Mr. Yuko Yasunaga, Head of UNIDO ITPO Tokyo
14:05-14:10 Welcome Remarks: H.E. Mr. Sanjiv Gunasekara, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Japan
14:10-14:15 Speech: H.E. Mr. Raja Edirisuriya, Chairman, BOI Sri Lanka
14:15-14:35 Presentation: “Emerging Investment Opportunities in Sri Lanka”
Mr. Prasanjith Wijayatilake, Executive Director, Investment Promotion Division, BOI Sri Lanaka
14:35-14:50 Presentation: “Testimonial by a Japanese investor“
Ms. Keiko Ishibashi, Managing Director, Lanka Precision Engineering (Pvt) Ltd.
14:50-14:55 Presentation: “Introduction of AOTS Assistance Scheme”
Ms. Kyoko Wada, The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS)
14:55-15:10 Questions & Answers
