Thursday, 23rd October 2014
There is huge potential and tremendous opportunities for Thais to invest in Sri Lanka, which is a free and open economy with several attractive incentives, including tax holidays of up to 12 years; to create a business friendly environment for foreign investors, states the Bangkok Post Asia Focus in its October 20 issue.
Quoting Nopporn Adchariyavanich, Thailand's Ambassador to Sri Lanka, the publication states that the Ambassador who has seen the huge potential and tremendous opportunities for Thais to invest in Sri Lanka, said that if the Thais don't act soon, they would be in a long queue behind others - notably from Malaysia, China, Japan and India - who have already made their way to one of the world's more promising emerging markets.
The ambassador said a wide range of opportunities were available for Thai investors. Tourism and hotel management are areas in which Thais are highly experienced, and agribusiness is another Thai strength. Processed food in particular has high potential in a country where food wastage is up to 30% because of weak post-harvest systems and logistics. Since the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009, the government has been steadily rebuilding, with infrastructure development across the island from expressways to road and rail networks and deep-sea port expansion. Another highly significant event took place last week when the rail link between Colombo and the battle-scarred northern city of Jaffna reopened for the first time in 24 years." This is not just another journey, this is a bridge between the north and south," said President Mahinda Rajapaksa as he boarded the Queen of Jaffna.
Since the end of the civil war in 2009, the country's Gross Domestic Product has expanded by 61%, from US$42 billion to $67.2 billion, and GDP per capita has risen 59% from $2,057 to $3,280. The government aims to reach $4,000 by 2016 and $7,000 by 2020.
Thailand enjoys a large trade surplus with Sri Lanka. Its exports to Sri Lanka were worth more than $550 million last year, against imports of just $100 million. Major export products included used cars, auto parts, textiles and dried fish, while imports from Sri Lanka were tea, jewellery and clothing. Despite the rising trade, investment between the two countries remains weak. Furthermore, Sri Lanka has a good relationship with the Maldives which imports many kinds of products, mostly from Thailand, to serve its hotel and tourism industry.
Mr Nopporn said some Thai businesses should consider production bases in Sri Lanka where labour was quite cheap in order to export products to the Maldives nearby at low cost. (Courtesy: Bangkok Post)
From : http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/huge-potential-thai-investment-sri-lanka
