Friday, 2 May 2014 02:56
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BNA: Sri Lanka seeks Bahraini investment in the hospitality sector, as the country needs to add 35,000 rooms by 2016. Tourist flow in 2013 was 1.2 million and is expected to touch 2.5 million in 2016, said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen.
Bahrain Minister of Industry and Commerce Dr. Hassan Fakhro said that Bahrain’s future economic growth hinges on the manufacturing sector. “This sector is expected to be the primary driver of both revenue and jobs,” he added.
Bahrain’s focus is on high value added industries. The investment parks and industrial areas that dot Bahrain highlight this factor, he added.
Officials of the two chambers of commerce and industry then entered into a memorandum of understanding. The MoU was entered into by the BCCI and the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Sri Lanka.
BCCI Deputy Chairman Jawad Al Hawaj and Women’s Chamber Chairperson Saroshi Dubash signed. This is the first international agreement that the Women’s Chamber is entering into, said its immediate past Chairperson Vidyani Hettigoda.
After the signing, Bathiudeen told the Bahrain News Agency that his nation was committed to building projects in the north eastern states. “This region is now our focus after the long and protracted war against terrorists,” he added.
Turing to bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Bahrain, he said at $ 60 million the present is well below the potential.
There is huge room for growth, he added, and great scope for significant expansion in the trade relation.
In tourism the two countries can do a lot together. The same holds for agricultural exports, including fruits and vegetables. The countries can join hands to build up a fisheries sector, said Bathiudeen. In the construction sector, there are companies with a good track record in foreign projects, he said.
Bahrain’s strength in the information technology and e-commerce could be used to benefit in Sri Lanka, he added.
“Our GDP was 7.2% in 2013 and is projected to touch 8.2% by year end. The potential for investment is large in the tourism sector. Trading is also highly neglected. We can do more. While we import oil, we export tea. We are number one in the world. In this, avenues for developing Bahrain as a re-export hub are high. Import the tea from Sri Lanka and then export it to the Middle East,” Bathiudeen added.
Asked about Sri Lanka’s per capita, the Minister said that now it is $ 3,000 and expected to move to $ 4,000 in another two years.
Bahrain’s business community should capitalise on the manufacturing and trade sector. The FTAs with India, Pakistan and the much-awaited agreement with China would help open the market to some of the largest markets of the South Asian region. For businesses investing in Sri Lanka, repatriation of profits and dividends is open. The private sector of the country now contributes 24% to GDP.
Bahrain Minister for Finance and Chairman of the National Oil and Gas Authority Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa told the agency that the relation on the political side is strong and on the economic side is growing. The meetings in the BCCI will foster greater growth in business between the two countries.
“The double taxation between both countries has been eliminated; free trade agreements and almost similar tax regimes are pointers to excellent climate for growing bilateral trade. The private sector will now have to play its role – building the bridges and taking the relationship forward,” he added.
He stressed on the country’s zero tax regime, 100% foreign ownership, the FTA with the US, Europe and with the GCC countries as impetus for growth of businesses being set up in Bahrain.
