British-Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce Established in London

04th October 2010, www.island.lk

Heralding the propulsion of trade interests between Britain and Sri Lanka, the British – Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce was established on September 16th, 2010 at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London at an event attended by Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Sarath Amunugama, in the presence of prominent UK businessmen, Industrialists and Financiers.

At the occasion, the President of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), Neville Reyner signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretary General/CEO of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), Harin Malwatte, establishing the British – Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce.

The British Chambers of Commerce, established in 1768 and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, established in 1839, together boast an impressive and wide-ranging membership with extensive outreach.

Presentations made by the Secretary – General/CEO CCC and the Chairman of De La Rue in the UK considerably boosted the business confidence of the participants at the launch of the British – Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce.

Secretary General/CEO of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Harin Malwatte in his presentation of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the investment opportunities in Sri Lanka mentioned the attractive investment climate prevailing in Sri Lanka at present:

political stability, ending of a 3 decade long war, infrastructure development and improvements in the ease of doing business with a host of other conditions.

The Preferential Tariff Agreements enjoyed by SL (PTAs) such as the Indo Lanka Free Trade Agreement, Pakistan Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement, SAARC Free Trade Agreement and the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement were highlighted as being conducive to investments. Bilateral investment protection agreements supported by a constitutional guarantee provide strong protection to foreign investment. Sri Lanka has never defaulted nor has requested rescheduling of any of its international obligations.

Malwatte went on to note that since the ending of the war, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has hosted 12 large investor missions in 2009 and 13 up to now in 2010.

In addition 9 delegations from India alone have been hosted by the Chamber. This he mentioned was an indication of the investment interest in Sri Lanka. The UK is not on the top 10 investment countries in 2009 and he expressed the hope that by the end 2011, the UK will figure out as one top 10 investors in Sri Lanka.