Trade renewal in offing with largest Nepali biz visit in a decade

Daily FT -  03/11/2014

• ‘Time for air links, new trade’: Nepal’s Dhakwa
• ‘Sending two teams’: EDB’s Egodage
• Bilateral trade at $ 5 m
• ‘Come to us & get Indo, Thai markets’: Nepal’s Dhakwa

TEPC Member of Board of Directors and the leader of the visiting Nepali delegation Bikash R. Dhakwa (third from right) gifts a copper and gold dust plated Shakyamuni Buddha statue crafted by Nepali artisans to EDB Chairman and CEO Bandula Egodage on 29 October in Colombo

As Lanka-Nepal trade leaped by threefold and showed new signs of revival, the biggest Nepali business delegation to Sri Lanka after almost a decade concluded their visit successfully on 2 November and also gave an unprecedented opening for the country’s artisans to enter two of the highly profitable craft markets in the region through Nepal and Sri Lanka’s creative artisans have been invited to November’s International Fair in Kathmandu.

“Sri Lanka and Nepal have historic relations and now is the time to go to the next step; towards stronger bilateral trade. The main reason we are coming to Sri Lanka is that you have very good gem processing technology – also we need your natural precious stones,” announced Trade and Export Promotion Center (TEPC) Member of Board of Directors and the leader of the visiting Nepali delegation Bikash R. Dhakwa on 29 October in Colombo.

Two Lankans clinch global rubber glory

Daily FT - 30/10/2014

• Prof. Attanayaka and Lalan’s Hapangama win top awards at Global Rubber Conference

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen hands over the GRC Wickham Award 2014 to Chairman, Lalan Rubbers Lalith Hapangama (left) and DPSTG Attanayaka (who collected on behalf of the winner Prof. DPSTG Attanayaka) on 28 October in Colombo. Chairman and CEO of EDB Bandula Egodage and Chairman Confexhub Sdn Bhd, Malaysia, Dr. Abdul Aziz (far right) were also present

Two Sri Lankans won GRC Wickham awards at the Global Rubber Conference 2014 (GRC) held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel on 28 October.

“At the next Global Rubber Conference, the knowledge received at today’s sessions should be reflected and evaluated. In such a background it is important for us to continuously review developments in all the closely related aspects and industries including the global economy and currencies as well,” said Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said while speaking at the conference.

Sri Lanka attends ICC Conference on Global Economic recovery in Dhaka

Asian Tribune - 31/10/2014

The Export Development Board of Sri Lanka led a trade delegation from Sri Lanka to participate at the International Chamber of Commerce Conference on Global Economic Recovery which was held in Dhaka on 25-26th October 2014.

On the sidelines of the Conference, nine Sri Lankan companies included in the delegation participated in two Business Match-Making sessions with the members of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at two events on 27th October. The participating companies represented printed packaging products, garment and textile accessories, IT and education, food processing and electric cable sectors. The delegation also met with the senior officials of the Board of Investment of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Global Rubber Conference 2014 kicks off in Colombo

Daily FT - 29/10/2014

The local rubber industry received much emphasis yesterday with the Global Rubber Conference (GRC) 2014 kicking off in Colombo.

The four-day event, which started on 27 October, is taking place for the fourth consecutive year.
The GRC is recognised to be one of the world’s leading conferences on natural rubber and NR-based products and is held on an annual basis rotating in different rubber-producing countries.

Organised by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLEDB) and Confexhub with the support from the Ministry of Plantation Industries and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the event saw about 250 delegates from over 25 countries come together to discuss and get updated on the pertinent issues affecting the global rubber industry.

Sri Lanka has an impressive record in planting, production & export of rubber – President

Asian Tribune - 28/10/2014

Sri Lanka has an impressive record in the planting, production and export of rubber which is today the third largest sector to the country’s economy, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rubber is an important part of the country’s plantation sector and its contribution to agro-industry provides gainful employment to more than 300,000 persons making it a mainstay in the socio-economic aspects of the country, he added.

Sri Lankan Rubber and Rubber products have today earned worthy recognition for good quality and reliability in the international market, he stated.

Lanka’s top global FDI partner in yet another $ 1 b rollout

Daily FT - 28/10/2014

• Malaysia places Lankan SMEs as top priority
• Going up to $ 1 b: – Delegation Lead Abdullah
• Great news for our SMEs: Rishad
• We are moving to SA via Lanka: SME Factors’ Al Qudsy
• Lanka-Malaysia trade at $ 577 m

Sri Lanka’s largest global FDI partner Malaysia is mulling a new wave of incremental FDI totalling $ 1 b with an emphasis on SMEs.
It will become one of the largest-ever Private Public Partnership (PPP) ventures in Sri Lankan SMEs and the entry of biggest SME financier in Malaysia to Sri Lanka is the first step in their South Asian leap.
“We are thinking of another $ 1 billion portfolio in Sri Lanka in addition to the current investment portfolio here by EXIM Bank of Malaysia. SMEs are the priority sector in this new $ 1 b rollout while other sectors are also being mapped,” said Syed Zed Al Qudsy, President of SME Factors, Jalan, Malaysia on 15 October, addressing Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen at the EDB Building in Colombo.

Jaffna IT Week to take IT/BPM sector north

Daily FT - 25/10/2014
By David Stephens

SLASSCOM Vice Chairman and Jaffna IT Week Convener Mano Sekaram addressing the media last evening. Also present from left: SLASSCOM Executive Director Dharshan Cooray, Emeritus Chairman Madu Ratnayake, SLEDB Chairman/CEO Bandula Egodage, ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura and University of Jaffna Senior Lecturer Dr. A. Ramanan

The National IT/BPM Chamber, Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM), in an effort to promote inclusive growth and reconciliation, will stage the Jaffna IT Week from 3-6 December at a number of venues across the region.

The Jaffna IT Week will comprise the Future Careers Program on 3 and 4 December at the Vembadi Girls’ High School, an IT/BPM Export Forum staged at the Tilko City Hotel on 5 December and the Jaffna IT Conference, which will be held at the Kailasapathy Auditorium of the University of Jaffna on 6 December.