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Thursday, 7 August 2014 01:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
“What we’ve seen so far in Sri Lanka is very encouraging – with highly literate people at above 90%. Sri Lanka is such a good destination for BPOs that even the global ATM processings of an international bank is done right here. Accenture believes that Sri Lanka will be very fast growing,” stressed Accenture France, Paris Consultant & Business Analyst Lotfi Kibboua. Accenture Consultant Kibboua was addressing Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka Rishad Bathiudeen as the spokesperson for the visiting top level French biz and construction investment delegation to Colombo. The visiting French business and construction investment delegation held an in-depth discussion session with Minister Bathiudeen and his top officials on 6 August at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Colombo 3. Joining Minister Bathiudeen that morning were Secretary, Ministry of Industry and Commerce Anura Siriwardene, DG Department of Commerce R.D.S. Kumararatne and officials of the Department of Commerce and Ministry of External Affairs.
Among the French firms in the 6 August business delegation meeting were Accenture (Ireland headquartered global investment consultancy firm), Cardete & Huet (France’ biggest architecture firm), Atelier D’ Architecture JL Hesters and Barlatier (Architecture), Arkepolis (Architecture/Urban Development), Vinci Construction Grand Projects (Investment Consulting), and BNP Paribas and L’agence and Consulting (Investment Consulting). According to the Department of Commerce of Sri Lanka, in 2013, France is the 11th largest export destination for Sri Lanka. France ranks as the 25th supplier of goods to Sri Lanka with a share of 0.8%. Total bilateral trade stood at $ 320.78 million in 2013 growing by 8.25% from 2012’s $ 329.03 million. Sri Lanka’s exports to France stood at $ 194 million in 2013. Apparel was Sri Lanka’s dominant export item to France taking 59% of 2013 exports, followed by vulcanised rubber (4%), used/retreated pneumatic rubber tyres (3%), coir (3%), fish fillets (3%) and frozen fish (3%).
“We thank Minister Bathiudeen and his officials for promptly making available the information we need,” said Kibboua, responding to Minister Bathiudeen, and added: “Accenture already works with Sri Lanka’s Brandix and therefore we know of your standards. What we’ve seen so far in Sri Lanka is very encouraging – with highly literate people at above 90%. In my firm too some of the best workers are Sri Lankans – in that, the proof of quality. Sri Lanka is such a good destination for BPOs that even ATM processing of an international bank is done here. Accenture believes that Sri Lanka will be very fast growing. This week hopefully we will be able to find out how and where exactly to invest here.”
Addressing the delegation, Minister Bathiudeen said: “Thanks to the vision HE the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, we are expecting 7.5% GDP growth this year. Many international investors are now showing renewed interest on Sri Lanka. Last year we attracted over $ 1.4 billion FDI. However, FDI from France is not at satisfactory level, we therefore request the French companies present here to take the message of Sri Lanka’s conducive investment policies and environment to your business community to attract more investments into Sri Lanka in view of the potentials as a result of FTA’s with India, Pakistan and the forthcoming FTA with China.
“One hundred percent of participation-ownership-is allowed by our government for the foreign investor on their valuable investments especially when they enter priority sectors such as tourism development. Foreign investments are given constitutional guarantees of safety with 100% profit repatriation. That is the kind of opportunity available for you here! As most of the of you here today are companies providing architectural services, investment consulting and construction related activities, I wish to highlight that tourism and tourism related infrastructure, urban development, mixed development projects, real estate and housing, apparel sector, rubber based industries, business outsourcing industries as areas of interest and strong potential for you. “When it comes to our North and East provinces, we encourage you to consider water supply projects in the coming two years, since there is a great need for them. Also, I stress that business interaction between the business communities of both countries is not adequate at present. We therefore should explore means and avenues where we can enhance and strengthen our trade and investment relations.”
Gerard Huet, Partner of Cardete Et Huet, France’s biggest architecture firm and the designer of the final assembly line of Airbus plants in Toulous, and has architecture projects spanning across aerospace, public facilities, hotels, housing and sports facilities, said: “We are France’s biggest architecture firm. Sri Lanka’s strategic hub location is a key factor that won our interest. We try to bring our experience on commercial and cargo aviation related construction to Sri Lanka. We think that your big corporates need aviation related architecture such as aviation buildings etc and we are ready to help.”
VINCI Construction Grand Projects Chief Finance Officer Cyril Guignard said: “Our Vinci operates worldwide, in two approaches-through its time bound ‘contracts’ and long termed ‘concession/BOT’ approaches. In Sri Lanka we are interested in water supply projects/sector such as what Minister Bathiudeen mentioned now. We have done one project already in Trincomalee, the Franch funded water treatment plant. We also seek to partner in Sri Lankan building construction, as well as highways.” According to CFO Guignard, VINCI Construction Grand Projects designs and builds major civil engineering structures (tunnels, bridges, dams, liquefied natural gas storage tanks, road and rail) across the world. Among its well-known projects are MuCEM (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations) in Marseille and the ‘Fondation Louis Vuitton’ building in Paris, whose modern construction said to have represented ‘unprecedented technological challenges’.
Department of Commerce DG R.D.S. Kumararatne detailing Sri Lanka’s emerging hub potentials, said: “French investors setting up here have great export opportunities facilitated by rapidly developing port infrastructures. With rapid development of Colombo and Magam Ruhunupura ports, we believe that the doubling of container shipments to 10 million would be possible soon.”
