Lanka’s Consul General in UAE and Hamriyah Free Zone Authority discuss partnerships

The Consulate General of Sri Lanka Dubai M.M. Abdul Raheem visited Hamriyah Free Zone Authority this week and met with Director General Dr. Rashid Alleem to strengthen bilateral business association and investment promotion between the two countries.

During his meeting Raheem highlighted the investment potential and business environment for Sri Lankan business community.

Sri Lanka has strong growth rates in recent years according to the IMF estimates is an economy of worth $ 64 billion and a per capita GDP of about $7900. It has a leading edge over the other countries in the South Asian region especially with literacy rate more than 94%, ranked at 82 positions among 184 countries by UNDP report 2011. 90% of expatriate Sri Lankans reside in the Middle East.

Consul General lauded HFZA’s highly developed infrastructure and its successful ranking as the second biggest free zone in the region and expressed great interest in the incredible investment opportunities at HFZA.

Giving an insight into HFZA’s achievements and future plans, Dr. Alleem highlighted its role as a catalyst in the economic growth and industrial development of Sharjah and the UAE.

“Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZ) is extremely proud of its positive contribution to the economic growth of Sharjah and the UAE. We estimate the total value of foreign direct investment (FDI) in our Free Zone has touched US$ 6 billion. Our performance is in line with the vision set for HFZ as a growth engine of the local economy,” Dr. Alleem motioned.

HFZ and South Asia region has unmatchable trade and investment potential, keeping in view HFZ unparalleled location on the crossroads of international trade routes, enhancing SME access to the emerging markets of Asia, Middle East and Africa with over two billion consumers.

The free zone has been deploying business solutions for international and local investors to access the lucrative market of 1.5 billion populations in the MENA region for the last 15 years.

“The Free Zone offers best infrastructure facilities and high quality services to welcome foreign investment in various sectors like manufacturing, trade and services. Besides the advantage of being in a strategic location to access global markets, HFZA also offers 100% ownership, tax free environment and 100% repatriation of capital and profits, amongst various other competitive incentives,” Dr. Alleem highlighted.

“We are aiming to touch the 6,000-mark this year. We extended our services into several new markets. Our global coverage now encompasses more than 140 countries, and our sights are set on penetrating more new markets to empower investors in their ventures,” Alleem added. (Courtesy: http://www.ameinfo.com)