Monday, 9 September 2013 00:02
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Strict labour laws and gender equality an investment grabber : KPMG
Tourism revenues and FDI expected to offset capital goods import costs
Prosperity Index Ranking improved to 58
The economic performance of Sri Lanka over the past years, have been consistent and moderate. “Sri Lanka’s poverty headcount is declining significantly and leads the South Asian HDI with high literacy rates. Lanka’s Prosperity Index ranking has also improved,” said Sri Lanka KPMG Transaction and Restructuring Services Manager Denushika Ruwankumar recently in Mt. Lavinia.
KPMG Manager Ruwankumar was making her presentation at the inaugural event of the visiting Netherlands business and trade delegation to Sri Lanka. The delegation, which began a week-long tour in Sri Lanka consists of reps from such leading Dutch firms as JIMPP Media, Abos, Defteq International BV, Beursgenoten, Fleurons & Prins, Velema Holdings, and Zonel Energy Systems. EDB facilitated presentations from various Lankan private sector firms – including Ceylon Tea, Tourism and KPMG – were made to the visiting delegation at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel, followed by a successful B2B session between Dutch and Lankan biz that continued throughout the afternoon. Jimpp Media BV, a business program producer is also part of the delegation. Ron Abdoelhafiezkhan, a well-known Dutch talk show host and a TV producer as well as JIMPP’s leading producer Juliette Iperen with her TV crew are also in the delegation. The JIMPP TV crew is scheduled to start shooting for two half hour segments on Sri Lanka’s new developments, to be televised in Netherlands.
“Rupee’s depreciation halted likely by enhanced global liquidity. Steady increases in tourism revenue and foreign capital inflows expected to offset rise in imports of capital goods, thus supporting rupee’s longer-term appreciation. The economic performance of Sri Lanka over the past few years in the post war period saw a very favourable growth in the economy. Despite the heightened global and domestic challenges, Sri Lanka is growing from strength to strength, a GDP growth of 7.5% is expected in 2013, and 8% in 2014,” said KPMG Manager Ruwankumar, and added: “Sri Lanka’s poverty headcount is declining significantly. Sri Lanka leads the South Asian HDI with high literacy and national health indicators. Overall HDI is 92 out of 187 countries. Lanka’s Prosperity Index ranking has also improved. Sri Lanka is a firm proponent of international laws and UN’s rights of labour, children and women. Sri Lanka has an edge over its regional competitors because of its stringent adherence to child labour laws and endorsement of gender equality. Sri Lanka’s ranking in the Global Prosperity Index also increased with the ranking moving up to the 58th from the 63rd position.”
The Central Bank said that according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) under the National Household Sample Survey Program, HIES 2009/10 survey, the poverty head count ratio has declined from 28.8% in 1995/96 to as low as 8.9% in 2009/10. The drop is attributed to the sharp fall in rural sector poverty. Further the 2009/10 survey indicated a two third fall in poverty in the estate sector as a result of the drop in relative prices of food items.
Discussing Lanka tourism, Ruwankumar said that 9,000 direct employees may be needed per annum for the hotel sector versus the current 1,500 yearly output of industry graduates. “As for graded rooms, 9,000 additional graded rooms would be needed above the current pipeline of 7,000” she added.
KPMG in Sri Lanka is a member firm of KPMG International and of the KPMG’s MESA business unit.
