Sri Lankan investment promotion events in Japan

Tuesday, 27 November 2018 01:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A series of investment promotion events organised by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan concluded earlier this month. The events included a business forum in Osaka, Kansai, on 5 November, supported by Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, and around 60 Kansai-based companies attended the event.

These promotional events were co-organised by the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) and the Sri Lanka Embassy in Tokyo, under the Economic Diplomacy Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Economic Diplomacy Program, which is being operationalised in 10 Sri Lanka Missions abroad, will bring tangible benefits to Sri Lanka in emerging markets through economic promotional activities. The Board of Investment team additionally conducted business seminars in Nagoya and Tokyo and held a number of follow-up bilateral discussions in Tokyo with the Japanese counterparts.

The event commenced with introductory remarks by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Japan Prof. Dammika Ganganath Disanayake, where he highlighted the strengthening bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and Japan, particularly referring to the high level political and business interactions that had taken place earlier in the year. This was followed by a technical presentation by Bansei Group Managing Director Hiroyuki Ota, who explained their target markets in Sri Lanka. Bansei Group in Japan has business interests in Sri Lanka including the financial, hotel and trading sectors. BOI Executive Director Prasanjith Wijethilake made a presentation on the investment policies in Sri Lanka.

Coinciding with the BOI delegation visit, the Embassy arranged for the signing of obtaining Honorary Membership of The Japan Institute for Overseas Investment (JOI).

The JOI collects and analyses a wide range of information beneficial foreign direct investment (FDI), aims to facilitate sound and smooth FDI from Japan and to contribute to the expansion of international economic cooperation with many countries around the world. The Embassy also arranged bilateral meetings with MUFG bank, with whom BOI had entered into an MOU to promote investments between the two countries. The BOI team also met with Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting, one of the largest accounting and professional service networks in Japan and discussed matters pertaining to FDI promotion.