• Commonwealth:
• News:
• News Archive Search:
• Sri Lanka woos UK industry

Sri Lanka woos UK industry

23 June 2006

Glen Tinton, the Director of Sourcing for Marks and Spencer, one of UK’s top retailers says ethical standards in business have helped swing the balance to make Sri Lanka one of the company’s top suppliers.

 He made the observation at an Investment Roundtable at the Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters in London, UK, on 22 June 2006. The event saw heavyweights from Sri Lanka’s business community meeting their UK counterparts in a bid to market the South Asian nation as a key investment destination and to create awareness of its trade potential.

The meeting was organised by the Commonwealth Business Council on behalf of the Sri Lankan government. The country’s Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Rohitha Bogollagama, who addressed the forum, said the country was looking to the UK to increase foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka. He said the government was targeting investment in business outsourcing, information and communication technology, tourism, as well as garments and textiles.

Sri Lanka’s economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of a long drawn civil conflict and a devastating tsunami which claimed over 30,000 lives in the island nation in December 2004. The country registered a GDP growth of 5.7% in 2005 despite the disaster caused by the tsunami which caused billions of dollars worth of damage to Sri Lanka’s infrastructure.

A shared historic bond which led to Sri Lanka’s membership of the Commonwealth and common education, administrative and accounting systems have been pull factors for foreign investors. UK businesses that already have a presence in the country have also cited Sri Lanka’s stable workforce, low staff turnover, strong management and communication skills and efficient delivery and completion of contracts as positive attributes.

Marks and Spencer is setting up a regional warehouse in Sri Lanka to serve South Asia while Aviva, UK’s largest insurance group, has outsourced a part of its accounting operations to a 300-man business outsourcing centre in Sri Lanka.

Mahesh Amalean, Chairman of MAS Holdings, a leading clothing manufacturer in Sri Lanka, said it was important for the country to come into the radar of British businesses looking to invest overseas. He said Sri Lanka could be a regional hub for companies doing business in the Sub-Continent.

The UK’s Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs Ian McCartney acknowledged Sri Lanka’s geographical location would be advantageous for business. He also pointed out that “for Sri Lanka to achieve sustained stability and prosperity and to reach its enormous potential, the peace process must succeed. We as a country, and indeed the European Union as a whole, has and will continue to play a strong supportive role.”