Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
Sri Lanka and China will finalise a free-trade agreement ahead of a Commonwealth summit in Colombo in November, a government minister said on Tuesday.
The two sides have been hammering out details of the duty-free goods under the deal, Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena told reporters in Colombo.
China has been investing heavily in Sri Lanka, with loans and expertise instrumental in building ports, highways, railways and power plants in the Indian Ocean nation.
Sri Lanka, expecting a bigger salt harvest this year from the country's salterns, plans to export the excess salt.
The Chairman of Lanka Salts Ltd., Pradeep Wijesiriwardana has said that there will be excess salt when the salterns at Elephant Pass produce salts and the excess can then be exported.
Wijesiriwardana has said that the plans are already underway to export the excess production from the Hambantota port.
Dutch biz are bullish on Sri Lanka’s emergent prospects. “Sri Lanka’s historic links with the Netherlands have entered a new era. This strong business and investment delegation is the latest sign” said an upbeat Buddhi Athauda (Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Netherlands) on 04 September in Mt. Lavinia.
Ambassador Athauda was addressing the inaugural event of the visiting Netherlands business and trade delegation to Sri Lanka on 04 September held at Mt Lavinia Hotel, Mt Lavinia. The delegation, which is on a week-long tour in Sri Lanka, and which arrived on same day (04 September) in Colombo, consisted of reps from such leading Dutch firms as JIMPP Media, Abos, Defteq International BV, Beursgenoten, Fleurons & Prins, Velema Holdings, and Zonel Energy Systems.
EDB facilitated presentations from various Lankan private sector firms-including Ceylon Tea, and Tourism- were made to the visiting delegation on 04 September at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel, followed by a successful B2B session between Dutch and Lankan biz that continued throughout the afternoon. Jimpp Media BV, a business programme producer is also part of the delegation. Ron Abdoelhafiezkhan, a well-known Dutch talk show host and a TV producer as well as JIMPP’s leading producer Ms Juliette Iperen with her TV crew are also in the delegation. The JIMPP TV crew is scheduled to start shooting for two half hour segments on Sri Lanka’s new developments, to be televised in Netherlands.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) celebrated its 34th anniversary recently. As a part of its anniversary celebrations, the formation of an Ex-EDB Employees society titled ‘Ex-EDB Employees Sansadaya’ was proposed, to strengthen the ties between the present and past employees of the EDB. The inaugural meeting and the get-together of the ‘Sansadaya’ was held on 23 August at the Cey-Nor Seafood Restaurant, Colombo, with the participation of present and past employees of EDB
A high end Israeli Trade delegation consisting of approx. 25 delegates from diverse sectors such as agriculture, dairy, the high tech industry, defence, insurance and water management sectors is currently visiting Sri Lanka in order to explore potential scope for collaboration between the two countries. The trade delegation which arrived on 26th August is led by Ambassador Sarath Wijesinghe, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Israel.
The objective of organizing the visit by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Israel with the assistance of the Export Development Board, the Chambers of Commerce and the Israel –Asia Chamber of Commerce in Israel was to highlight Sri Lanka’s comparative advantages as well as the variety of investment incentives available in the priority sectors of the Sri Lankan economy. This visit is also timely since there has been considerable growth in bilateral economic relations between Sri Lanka and Israel with trade doubling to US $ 158.35 million last year.
The delegation of Sri Lanka is interested in export of certain Belarusian goods such as sugar, tires and oil products. The heads of the states agreed on setting up joint ventures.
Joel Selvanayagam, the chair of the group of companies (Sri Lanka): "We have enormous potential and technologies. By uniting them we can advance our economies".
In accordance with the popular slogan “Come September Come Facets” the 23rd version of Sri Lanka’s premier International Gem & Jewelry Show, Facets 2013, eagerly awaited by all stakeholders in the international gem and jewelry trade and industry, is due to be held from August 29th to September 1st, 2013, at the usual venue, the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition and Convention Centre, part of the complex of buildings associated with the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), situated along Bullers Road, Colombo. The show is organized by the Sri Lanka Gem & Jewelry Association (SLGJA) and co-sponsored by the National Gem & Jewelry Authority (NGJA) of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLEDB) .
The show will be held in the two large octagonal-shaped convention halls of the exhibition center, the main hall being reserved for the display of precious and semi-precious gems and the second hall allocated to jewelry, lapidary and other machinery used in the gem and jewelry industry. Around 200 exhibitors both local and foreign are due to be accomodated in both halls. The ceremonial opening of the show will be held at 9.00 a.m. on August 29, 2013 and the show will be open to visitors from 9.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on August 29, and on the remaining three days August 30 to September 1, from 10.00 am to 6.00 p.m
Belarus, world’s third largest potash power and an industry driven economy with a GDP equal to Sri Lanka, is bullish on Sri Lanka’s trade, B2B and more importantly, in its industries. And Belarus is gearing towards partnering in the kick-start of Sri Lanka’s crucial agro-automotive industry.
“46% of our GDP is industries! We have carefully studied about Sri Lanka’s economic and industrial zones and please tell us more about your 26 industrial zones that aroused our interest!” declared an eager (HE) Vitaly Prima (the New Delhi based Ambassador of Belarus to Sri Lanka) on 06 August in Colombo.
Prima, who is currently leading a 14 member trade and business delegation to Sri Lanka, was addressing Rishad Bathiudeen (Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka) at Minister Bathiudeen’s Industry and Commerce Ministry on 06 August during his delegation’s meeting with Minister Bathiudeen.
Sri Lanka’s non-BoI apparel exporters have been now integrated to the crucial global network called Asycuda World (of UNCTAD). And having overcome the global recession, our apparel exports are now back on track-with good news. “Today, Sri Lanka’s apparel sector is entering into a new phase.
As a result of Sri Lanka’s non-BoI apparel manufacturers directly integrating into the online ‘Asycuda World’ system, we have now cleared a major bottleneck in our apparel exports” announced Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce on 30 July in Colombo. Minister Bathiudeen was addressing the implementation event of the Asycuda World export documentation system for non-BoI apparel exporters held 30 July at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is also the country’s Finance Minister has declared Sri Lanka’s four main ports, Colombo, Hambantota, Trincomalee and Galle as ‘Free Ports’.
Additionally, the President declared the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, the Katunayake Export Processing Zone and Koggala Export Processing Zone as ‘Bonded Areas’.
The declaration entitles enterprises which are 65 percent foreign-owned and operating through the specified areas to wide tax exemptions including provisions under the Customs Ordinance and Exchange Control Act.
Despite the drawbacks of the anticipated economic recovery in the European Union and the United States not taking place and also the unsettled conditions in the Middle East, there has been a commendable increase in the country’s export earnings in June this year, said Bandula Egodage, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board .
Addressing the 16th annual general meeting of the Exporters’ Association of Sri Lanka as the guest of honour, Egodage said that according to provisional Customs data, Sri Lanka’s export earnings had recorded a commendable increase in June this year and exports to our key markets USA and EU, especially to the USA, had also shown a satisfactory increase in the same month.
FACETS Sri Lanka 2013, the International Gem and Jewellery Show that showcases hundreds of local and foreign exhibitors, will be held from August 29 to September 1 at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Exhibition Centre. This year’s exhibition will comprise over 150 booths with a variety of gem and jewellery that include precious and semi-precious gems.
Organized by the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA), FACETS Sri Lanka enables all gem and jewellery traders to display market collections and also help create awareness about the importance of the gem and jewellery industry in Sri Lanka. Additionally, the event will consist a seminar on 'Gem and Jewellery in Sri Lanka' conducted by an expert panel of local and International panelists.
FACETS Sri Lanka 2013 encompasses individual exhibitor pavilions from Myanmar, The National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) and an SME pavilion from the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) . In addition, buyer delegations from USA, China, Russia and India will also be arriving. Stall holders from Singapore, Dubai, Myanmar and India will be participating at the event.
Sri Lanka's information technology and business process outsourcing sector has tripled exports and doubled the workforce in a little over five years, an industry official said.
The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) say export revenues grew 182 percent to an estimated 600 million US dollars in 2013 from 213 million US dollars in 2007.
Total employment in the industry rose 100 percent to 67,000 in 2013 from 33,000 in 2007, the chamber's newly elected chairman Madu Ratnayake, from Virtusa, an information technology company said.
Morocco has shown keen interest to boost trade and industrial cooperation with Sri Lanka.
“We need to expand our bilateral trade as well as our industrial cooperation. Investors from both countries can also enter into joint ventures in many sectors; we are strong in rubber and fishery -technologies that Sri Lanka can benefit from us considerably,” said Moroccan Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Larbi Reffouch during his recent meeting with Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen at the Export Development Board.
Industrialists should make the maximum use of the many facilities and benefits given to them by the government. "To develop our industry sector, the government has given many facilities to our industries and industrialists should start making maximum use of them. As the facilitators of industry development of Sri Lanka, we thank Dr PB Jayasundara, the Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning for directly meeting our industrialists on 16 July and successfully explaining and updating them on the government policies on industries" said Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce on 16 July in Colombo, as quoted in a press communiqués issued by the ministry.
The visit of a Sri Lankan business delegation to South Africa is a joint initiative of the Sri Lanka High Commission in Pretoria and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and Tea Board for the participation of Sri Lankan exporters at the SAITEX 2013 International Trade fair held at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from June 30 to July 2.
Leading Sri Lankan companies - DSI Tyres, Kelani Cables, Rathna Cinnamon Producers and Exporters, Queens Workwear, Nature's Secrets and Lalan Rubber - exhibited at the Sri Lanka pavilion while Basilur Tea Exporters and Sunshine Tea Exporters were at the Tea Board pavilion at the exhibition.
Tunisia, the fifth phosphate producer in the world and a high end, high speed apparel supplier to European fashion world is showing a new opening for Lankan apparel supply chains. And Tunisia is agog over Sri Lanka’s growth rates. “We are almost taken up by your strong GDP growth rates that exceed 6%. I congratulate Sri Lanka for its spectacular growth.
hen you specially compare with the world economic growth rate, it’s such a leading rate” said Tarek Azouz, Ambassador of Tunisia to Sri Lanka on Wednesday (10).
Azouz was addressing Rishad Bathiudeen Minister of Industry & Commerce during his courtesy call on Minister Bathiudeen at EDB premises in Colombo. Also present along with Minister Bathiudeen were Anura Siriwardena Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Bandula Egodage Chairman, Export Development Board and officials from the Department of Commerce.
“Today is an important day in Sri Lanka’s exports sector. We are appointing the Advisory Committees of Sri Lanka’s premier national exports organization, the EDB, and also launching the next international mega event in our exports calendar which is the ‘EXPO 2014” said Minister Bathiudeen, and added: “The global markets continue to show changing demand patterns, not only due to the recent global economic crisis but also as a result of long term fundamental changes in overall global consumption and shifting world market patterns. For example, 66% of the world market and population growth in the next century is expected to come from Africa."
Sri Lanka has to build capacity opportunities to be a processed food exporter, taking a cue from developments that occurred in East Asian nations such as Thailand and Vietnam, an Australia-based economist said.
Prema-chandra Athukorale, professor of economics at Australian National University said in Thailand 23 percent of non-oil exports were processed foods and in Vietnam it was 27 percent and in Sri Lanka only 5.0 percent.
He said global food habits were changing and there were opportunities for Asia food exporters.
The Export Development Board (EDB) has identified the potential growth of global Medical Tourism sector and capability of Sri Lankan medical and health tourism providers. EDB has requested assistance of International Trade Center (ITC) to develop this sector.
Accordingly ITC decided to have a case study in Sri Lanka health /medical tourism sector to access the capabilities of Sri Lanka in this sector and to benchmark Sri Lankan capabilities compared to the global Medical Tourism Industry.
