Delegation from Finland interested in Sri Lanka’s potential for investment

Wednesday, 17 December 2014 01:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Chairman Dr. Lakshman Jayaweera and senior BOI officials briefed an official delegation from Finland headed by Matti Anttonen, Under Secretary of State, External Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and Ambassador of Finland to Sri Lanka Rauli Suikkanen at the BOI.

The Finnish delegation expressed interest in Sri Lanka’s trade and investment policy and particularly on the Free Trade Agreements that Sri Lanka has entered into with both India and with Pakistan. The BOI also briefed the Finnish delegation on the status of the discussions relating to the Free Trade Agreement that is currently being negotiated with China and other important issues relating to investments. The BOI side also briefed the visitors on the current interest in Sri Lanka by two leading Japanese banks, namely Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi and Mizho Bank with which BOI has entered into Memorandums of Understanding. The banks promote Sri Lanka among their vast client database. The Finnish delegation also informed the BOI that they would help find matching partners in Finland for Sri Lankan companies, indicating that there is considerable potential in the tourism sector. Sri Lanka is also participating in Finland’s biggest tourism fair. Finland has a highly-diversified economy but most of production is now relocated overseas. However, Finland’s strength lies in its very high quality of design which enjoys worldwide reputation. Finland’s population, and hence its workforce, is ageing, which means that Finnish companies now focus mainly on developing high technology thanks to their advances in research and development sectors. Though considered a small country in population terms, Finland can boast of having 15-20 world class companies which are internationally well known. Engineering is one of the country’s main strengths. There is a possibility that Finnish companies would look investing in Sri Lanka as a result of the awareness created during this visit.