Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi opens liaison office in Colombo
22 January 2016 05:04 am
From left: BOI Chairman Upul Jayasuriya, State Minister International Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe, BTMU Asia and Oceania Region CEO Go Watanabe, State Minister National Policy and Economic Affairs Niroshan Perera and Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Kenichi Suganuma
Pic by Pradeep Pathirana
By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
Sri Lanka is likely to witness a surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan with latter’s premier bank sounding upbeat and pledging to commit to a long-term economic relationship with the island nation.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), which announced the commencement of its representative office in Colombo yesterday, said while it would work towards deepening its roots in Sri Lanka, its key focus was to contribute to the social economic growth of the nation.
“We have a strong commitment to Sri Lanka. We are not looking to make profits by engaging in short-term business. We are looking much beyond that where our aim is to successfully establish a long-term relationship. We will gradually increase our business here, support in every way possible to bring investments from all over the world to Sri Lanka,” said BTMU Asia and Oceania Region CEO Go Watanabe during the launching ceremony held in Colombo yesterday.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is the first Japanese bank to open its representative office in Sri Lanka. He said the establishment of the representative office would further deepen the presence of BTMU in the South Asia region.
“Sri Lanka is one of the countries where Japanese direct investment have been growing .Not only will the setup allow BTMU to gain greater insights on the local market, we will now be able to provide more timely support to our customers who are already based in Sri Lanka,” said Watanabe at the event that was graced by the State Minister International Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe, State Minister National Policy and Economic Affairs Niroshan Perera, Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Kenichi Suganuma, and senior officials of the Board of Investment (BOI) and Export Development Board (EDB).