Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council and Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club hold networking event

The committees of the Sri Lanka Singapore Business Council and the Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club together with senior officials of the BOI, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). 

A joint networking evening was recently organised by the Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council (SLSBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club.  

The event was organised with the objective of providing an opportunity for members to interact amongst themselves, with the Singapore expatriate community in Sri Lanka and senior officials of key Government institutions relevant to business. 

The event was is in keeping with an objective of the Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council which is to be a facilitator of business for its members.

The event was held at the function room of Prima Ceylon Ltd. and was well-attended by over 80 participants including members of the SLSBC, which has now grown to 79 member companies, members of the Singapore Club and special invitees. Representatives of Prima, Overseas Realty, Singapore Airlines, Pico-SLECC, Fujitec Lanka, Pyramid Wilmar and other Singapore connected companies attended the event. 

Senior officials of the Board of Investment (BOI), the Export Development Board (EDB) as well as representatives from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Embassy of Japan were amongst the special invitees present.

Shamil Mendis, Chairman/Managing Director Spear Global Holdings Ltd., President of the Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council, the committee of the SLSBC and Jay Ong, the President of the Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club welcomed the members. 

The Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council was inaugurated in 1997 as the 18th bilateral Business Council formed under the aegis of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The primary objectives of the council are to promote trade, tourism and to create an environment which will enhance the commercial activity between Sri Lanka and Singapore as well as facilitate investment by Singaporean companies in Sri Lanka. 

Following the successfully concluded Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Forum in Colombo organised by the SLSBC to mark the visit of Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry S. Iswaran, leading a high-profile business delegation and the subsequent trade and investment promotion mission to Singapore last year, the council intends to organise the next business delegation to Singapore in November 2017 in conjunction with the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), Singapore’s apex and largest business chamber. 

During this period, the Singapore Business Federation, with a membership of over 16,000 members, will plan to conduct a seminar titled ‘Doing Business in Sri Lanka’ followed by a business matchmaking session.

Several inward delegations were received from Singapore in the last year and are also expected in the period ahead. The SLSBC is in regular contact with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), IE Singapore, the Government Agency driving Singapore’s external economy, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Singapore Manufacturing Federation. 

The SLSBC is pleased to call applications from interested companies to join its membership in order to participate in the above activities. For more details please contact the Secretariat on 5588800/92 or email [email protected].