25 June 2016 12:00 am
A Japanese business delegation consisting of 28 leading companies visited Sri Lanka with the purpose of gaining a firsthand experience of the business and investment climate of Sri Lanka.
The delegation consisted of representatives of leading Japanese enterprises and other companies such as Leopalace 21, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mizuho Bank, NTT Data, Mitsui & Co. India Pvt Ltd, JGC Musashi Industry Inc., Energy & Technology, Nippon Express, KPMG, Eikei Corporation, NEDO, as well as officials from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI) and the Japanese Embassy in Sri Lanka.
The delegation also wished to meet the BOI to gain a better understanding of the role of the BOI in the process of approving and facilitating Foreign Direct Investment into Sri Lanka.
The BOI was represented by Renuka Weerakone Executive Director (Investment & Promotion), Dilip S Samarasinghe Director (Media & Publicity) and Nilupul De Silva Director (Promotion).
In addition, Tadayuki Seiki, Chairman Japan-Sri Lanka Business Co-operation Committee and Senior Advisor to Itchu Corporation, the leader of the delegation said that the mission which consisted of 28 leading Japanese companies had visited India and decided to extend their visit to Sri Lanka.
The Japanese side was briefed on issues such as land ownership for foreign enterprises and made aware of the BOI’s newly established One Stop Shop.
Furthermore, there are many opportunities for Japanese companies to invest in Sri Lanka with the start of the Megapolis project where about US$40 billion worth of projects will be available to potential investors seeking to start their projects in the Western Province. In that regard some feasibility studies had already been initiated by JICA.
The visiting Japanese companies expressed interest in a number of key sector such as aquaculture, Real Estate development, energy, electronics and automobile components and other important economic sectors.