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Japan External Trade Organization Chairman and CEO Hiroyuki Ishige
Hitachi President Toshiaki Higashihara
Taisei Cooperation President Emeritus Takashi Yamauchi
Several Japanese investors have shown tremendous interest in Sri Lanka’s potential for investment opportunities.
This view was expressed by Japanese companies who called on President Maithripala Sirisena and the accompanying five minister delegation in Nagoya Japan on the sidelines of Sri Lanka’s historic participation at the G7 2016 Summit outreach partners gathering. Among Japanese companies who held discussions were Taisei Corporation and Hitachi as well as the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).
Taisei Corporation President Takashi Yamauchi expressed his interest in investing in various sectors, including highway construction, expansion of Bandaranaike International Airport and building of a monorail with speeds of up to 500kms per hour.
Hitachi Corporation President Toshiaki Higashihara also expressed his interest in constructing a monorail in Sri Lanka. He said the company has already done a preliminary survey on monorail requirement in Colombo and the suburbs and has concluded that there is an immediate requirement of 75kms monorail lines.
He also said his company could implement projects on water treatment, infrastructure, energy and IT sectors. He also paid attention to setting up an IC card system as tickets for rail and buses. That card also could be used as a bank credit stored debit card.
The Governor of the Aichi Prefecture, Hideaki Oomura called on President Sirisena and said industrialists from his area are interested in enhancing investments in Sri Lanka. He said he was proud of Noritake, one of the Japanese companies which had invested in Sri Lanka. He said Noritake has become a global corporation.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Mahinda Amaraweera and Plantation Industries Minister Navin Dissanayake were associated in most of the meetings.