CHENNAI: Several Indian investors based in Tamil Nadu are keen to invest in Sri Lanka as they see the current economic crisis as an opportunity, said Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner Dr. D. Venkateshwaran in an EXCLUSIVE interview with Daily News Business.
The Deputy High Commissioner said he will also talk to major companies including pharma, motor, car component manufacturers, trade chambers, to have their future expansions, fresh investments or value-added investments in Sri Lanka. They could start manufacturing in Sri Lanka and use the FTA and re-export to the region (including Pakistan) and he got a positive feedback from them.’
“I will be visiting the southern states to woo investments into Sri Lanka. An investor forum is also being planned next month in this regard,” he said.
 Sumith Bothra presenting a token to Deputy High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in India Dr. D. Venkateshwaran |
He said that the investor community has taken the appointment of new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as a very positive step towards reactivating the Sri Lankan economy.
“The new PM has already taken some steps in the right direction and the Indian government is to support this initiative and have already sent fertiliser which will solve the ‘paddy fertiliser shortage issue for the Yala season’ almost immediately. I must also recall that power cuts are happening all over the world and also Indian fuel prices are more than Sri Lanka. We also see the Sri Lankan rupee stabilizing and expect some of the commodity prices to come down. It’s now time for the Sri Lankan politicians and also the business community to support the new PM to take the country back to its pre covid position. He also said that even with the escalating construction costs Sri Lanka real estate projects are far cheaper to India and Sri Lankan companies should market them to the Indian market more aggressively. With an increasing number of real estate projects getting developed, there is an oversupply of real estate inventory in Sri Lanka. With the economic crisis hitting Sri Lanka, the purchasing propensity of Sri Lankans is at its abysmal low. In this situation, Sri Lankan developers will have to explore international marketing channels for their projects and India is the best choice.
“The Sri Lanka government recently announced a new legislator to make ‘Sri Lanka’ the second home and further relaxed regulation for foreigners to purchase apartments. The Sri Lanka Real Estate sector should ‘cash’ on this and commence aggressive road shows to woo Indians to buy property in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka being close to India is easier for Indians to invest in a second home in Colombo.
Hence, selling Sri Lankan real estate to Indians is a low hanging fruit for Sri Lankan real estate developers.”
“As per an Asia-Pacific Wealth Report, Indians were the highest investors in foreign real estate, with a 50% market share and the top destinations attracting Indians are Dubai, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, USA, and Australia topping the charts. According to a 2019 report, over 3,000 Indian families own some of the most luxurious properties in London’s most influential addresses,” said economics, investment analyst and CEO, Inspiredge Ltd, Sumit Bothra from Chennei.
“As aspirations grow, we have noticed that the income brackets that can afford a piece of real estate abroad has also widened over the last five years,” he added.
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