17 November 2017 11:19 am
By Claude Gunasekera
India is highly concerned about the economic development of Sri Lanka and ready to support the local industrialists by offering a special concession on industrial machinery and equipment, said Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) General Manager Immanuel Mahesh Kumar.
Schwing Stetter Managing Director V.G. Shakthi Kumar and a committee member of the CII said their records indicate a tremendous increase in volume of machinery and equipment supplies to Sri Lanka over the past year.
They see it in terms of a shift from Chinese products. He challenged and ensured that their after sales care is unbeatable by any other country particularly with China. Both Mahesh Kumar and Shakthi Kumar stated this at an exclusive interview with the Mirror Business at the Galadari Hotel, recently.
It was also learnt from certain local industrialists that Chinese products look great and offers best prices but their machinery does not last long.
Shakthi Kumar invited all industrialists in Sri Lanka to visit the Excon Exhibition in India to inaugurate this special service of concession offer. He said the event is the largest Construction Equipment and Technology Fair in South Asia and it will be a platform to showcase the best of the equipments and technologies.
The ninth International Construction Equipment and Technology Trade Fair, Excon 2017 is scheduled to be held from December 12th to 16th, 2017 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. The local counterpart for the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in Sri Lanka, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will coordinate all the logistics.
A large delegation of industrialists including government officials responsible for industry and commerce is due to attend the exhibition.
Shakthi Kumar also said there are several small and medium construction and sub contracting projects progressing in India and invited Sri Lankan contractors to bid for such tenders as part of their package to support Sri Lanka.
CII is a premier trade association representing the interests of Indian businesses in various sectors, in engineering, manufacturing, consulting, and services. It comprised almost all Indian engineering and manufacturing firms, to liberalize the country’s economy. Its membership now includes thousands of multinational corporations as well as small and medium sized businesses.
CII influences government economic policies through informal advisory and consultative arrangements with government agencies and officials. It also provides consulting, public-relations, and other services and networking opportunities to its neighbouring countries. CII has undertaken policy initiatives to address issues such as climate change, corporate social responsibility, good governance, rural development, and the empowerment of women.
To address bilateral issues and to promote Indian businesses abroad, CII has also established institutional partnerships with more than 200 counterpart associations in countries throughout the world. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is the counterpart in Sri Lanka.
In order to provide the ultimate business platform and to aid India in augmenting infrastructure growth, CII organises Excon series of exhibition.