Despite globe economic issues, Chinese investments to Sri Lanka will continue and sizable investments running to over USD one billion are on the cards for the next six months, says former Ambassador to China Dr Palitha Kohona. Former Foreign Secretary and Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Kohona said that unlike the pre COVID era today our investment climate is not the same.
“The financial crisis, the social unrest of last year, the perceived instability, etc have all contributed to creating a negative environment and a lack of confidence in Sri Lanka in the investor mindset.”
However the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka worked very hard to restore the confidence of the Chinese investor community.
“We noted that the Sri Lankan economy was gradually regaining its strength. Opportunities to address trade and investor conferences in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhenshen and in the other provinces were used regularly to convey a positive message about Sri Lanka. Still some hard work remains to be done with the Chinese financial institutions. However I am pleased to say that China Harbour and Hunan Construction have committed to invest USD 1.2 billion in the Colombo Port City (CPC). SINOPEC has plans for a multibillion Dollar investment, including an oil refinery in Hambantota. CZK has declared its intention to establish a major gem trading centre at the CPC. China Great Wall, CIDCA and Wuhan University were exploring a multimillion dollar investment in a high tech university which can still be resuscitated.
SinoPharm had plans to establish a pharmaceutical, mainly vaccine, packing plant in Sri Lanka. Chinese solar and wind power companies have recently expressed considerable interest in Sri Lanka’s renewable energy sector, including solar panel fabrication. Talks are continuing on a complex light rail project. With further effort we should be able to encourage these corporate giants to locate some of their overseas investments in Sri Lanka.”
Electric vehicle manufacturers had begun to evince considerable interest in the assembly and manufacture of vehicles in Sri Lanka, not only for the local market, but also to target the regional markets.
“Chinese tour operators, including the major cruise lines, were beginning to look at Sri Lanka as a desirable port of call in their itineraries. Similarly with the predicted surge in demand in strategic minerals, Sri Lanka should be able to exploit the potentialities of the market place more aggressively. I had begun to discuss with Chinese telecom giants to enhance their perception of Sri Lanka as a potential investment hub. The critical thing at the moment is to encourage confidence in our economy and the predictability of our investment climate in the minds of Chinese companies. We are in the process of negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement with China.” (SS)
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