Ceylon Chamber’s Business Conclave to kick off this evening

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce-organised ‘Sri Lanka Investment and Business Conclave 2016’ will commence this evening (March 8, 2016) in Colombo with the participation of 125 plus potential investors, who come from 27 countries.

Apart from them, 130 Sri Lankan business executives representing top local firms will also take part in the event in order to meet the visiting investors and explore opportunities for business partnerships.

The inauguration session of the event will take place this evening at Cinnamon Grand Hotel with the participation of chief guest Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera and guest of honour Special Assignments Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama. The keynote speech will be delivered by Dialog Axiata Malaysia Chairman Datuk Azzat Kamaludin, while Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Samantha Ranatunga will deliver the welcome address.

A message from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be read at the event. The second day of the event (March 9) will consist of key business sessions, followed by business-to-business (B2B) meetings with the visiting investors and their local counterparts. The investors will also hold business-togovernment (B2G) meetings during the second day of the Conclave.

The first business session of the second day will discuss the topic of ‘Unlocking New Opportunities for Potential Partnerships in Sri Lanka’ with high-profile Cabinet Ministers – Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Strategic Development and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama, Public Enterprise Development Minister Kabir Hashim and Megapolis Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka – taking part as panellists. Renowned economist Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy will moderate the session. The Success Story of Investment and Continuing Business Partnerships in Sri Lanka’ will also come under discussion during the Conclave with Camso Loadstar Private Limited Chairman Pierre Pringiers sharing the success story of his company’s operations in Sri Lanka. Following the above sessions, a discussion also would be held under the title ‘Strategies of Attracting Business Partnerships and Investments to Sri Lanka’ with the participation of Board of Investment Chief Upul Jayasuriya, Export Development Board Chairperson and CEO Indira Malwatte, Colombo Stock Exchange Chairman Vajira Kulatilake and Urban Development Authority Chairman Ranjith Fernando.

The session would be moderated by Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chief Economist Anushka Wijesinha. The business sessions will be followed by a large number of B2B meetings between the visiting investors and local counterparts and also a series of G2B meetings with government officials and visiting investors.

The third day of the event, which is March 10, 2016, the visiting investors will make field visits to the Export Processing Zones, Port of Colombo and Colombo Stock Exchange. ‘Sri Lanka Investment and Business Conclave 2016’, organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has attracted foreign investors from 27 countries, with the investors mainly expected to focus on the areas of export manufacturing agriculture, infrastructure development, export services, local knowledge services, power and energy, tourism and leisure sectors are the areas the majority of the investors are keen to find opportunities.

A boost to govt.’s development focus: President

Issuing a message on the Ceylon Chamber’s Sri Lanka Investment and Business Conclave 2016 President Maithripala Sirisena said the event is a boost to the government’s development focus. “The government has launched a major drive to attract quality foreign direct investment (FDIs) to help propel the development drive of the country. Hence, this initiative by the country’s leading chamber, bringing over 100 foreign investors from around 20 plus countries is a much-needed boost to the government’s development focus.

am glad to note that the investors, who are coming to take part in this forum have shown an interest to invest in diverse economic sectors, such as agriculture, apparels, education, export manufacturing, export services, infrastructure, knowledge services, tourism and leisure and several other areas,” the statement said. President in his message also invited the foreign investors and their local counterpart to use this excellent opportunity to find areas of mutual cooperation, which can be utilized to each other’s benefit by tapping the vast amount of economic opportunities available in Sri Lanka. “This initiative of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is laudable as such events will definitely assist Sri Lanka to achieve its goal of becoming an important economic hub in the South Asian region. I thank the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for organising this important and timely event and wish it every success,” he concluded.