Chairman of Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Dr. Lakshman Jayaweera hosted a high powered delegation from Guangdong Province, China and briefed them on possibilities of investing in Sri Lanka.
The Chinese delegation was led by Li Jian, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong province. He was accompanied . Huang Guoping, Director and Phoenix Ge from People’s Government of Guangdong Province. The delegation also included members of the Media from Guangdong who covered the visit to Sri Lanka. The mission to Sri Lanka is part of an official visit to a number of Asian countries to cover the maritime silk route
BOI Chairman was assisted by Dilip S Samarasinghe – Director (Media & Publicity) of the BOI, Nilupul De Silva – Director (Promotion) and Kumudini Rathnaweera – Deputy Director (Promotion) and also Desk Officer for China.
Guangdong is a key province of China and is in fact its economic powerhouse. With a Gross Domestic Product which is more than US$1Trillion, the province can boast of having an economy whose volume surpasses that of many developed nations. Guangdong houses many of China’s most advanced industries which are located notably at the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
The BOI Chairman therefore stated that Sri Lanka should be actively promoted in Guangzhou. Both countries have enjoyed very friendly relations that go back to the earliest of times. He added that Sri Lanka is tailor-made for Chinese investments and there were already a significant number of Chinese projects in the country. Many Chinese investors have found the BOI’s incentive packages attractive and have availed themselves of them when starting projects.
The Colombo Port City is possibly the most high profile Chinese investment, which will create a completely new business district in Colombo. In addition some of the mega projects undertaken by Chinese and other enterprises will not just change the capacity of the city and transform the lifestyles of its inhabitants, they will, in addition, spur the development of an advanced building materials industry.
However, the BOI is interested in attracting investments in the advanced technology sector. The Chairman therefore welcomed Chinese high technology companies who want to set up research centers in Sri Lanka. He was also confident that Guangdong, China’s powerhouse, will be targeted for investment promotion.
The Chinese leader Li Jian also express interest in Sri Lanka’s products earmarked for import substitution including pharmaceuticals, dairy products and textiles for the garment industry. All those products are indeed manufactured in Guangdong.
The Chinese side also sought more information on the fisheries sector particularly fish processing. They also expressed interest in the work undertaken by Chinese enterprises at the ports of Colombo and Hambantota.
