SLASSCOM signs MoU with CHEC Port City Colombo

Channa Manoharan

Sandra De Zoysa

Houliang Jiang

Thulci Aluwihare

Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM), as the national chamber and pioneering enabler of IT/BPM exports, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CHEC Port City Colombo (CPCC), marking a historic milestone for both parties. 

The partnership was established to enable mutual cooperation towards developing and promoting the Sri Lankan knowledge and innovation sector in line with achieving $ 5 billion in exports by 2025.

IT-BPM sector has been identified as a priority sector that fits the strengths of Port City Colombo for its investment accelerator approach. With the Port City Colombo positioned as a services-oriented Special Economic Zone within which there will be ease of doing business to attract companies to move their regional offices and headquarters to Sri Lanka, the partnership is a significant landmark to achieve mutual growth and development for both parties. 

Commenting on the partnership, SLASSCOM former Chairman Channa Manoharan highlighted that this MOU was “only the beginning of a great journey which is an important one for both the country and the IT-BPM sector”.

“This partnership will help SLASSCOM position our sector with a higher degree of competitive advantage amongst the global analyst community, investors, and clients. The four competitive factors key to attracting IT-BPM players are financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, business environment, and digital resonance. The integrated offerings of Port City Colombo meets all four factors and therefore is best placed to position Sri Lanka’s IT-BPM industry’s differentiated value proposition to potential clients and investors,” he added.

SLASSCOM newly appointed Chairperson Sandra De Zoysa said: “It will be a promising journey forward for SLASSCOM, Port City Colombo and the sector as a whole to promote Sri Lanka as a destination for investments in IT-BPM. She said that the chamber will nurture the partnership by bringing in the knowledge, market intelligence, the power of the Island of Ingenuity brand and the strong relationships that have been established with partners across key markets in the world.” 

CPCC Managing Director Houliang Jiang said the partnership would help both parties collaborate to position Sri Lanka’s IT-BPM sector to the world market. “CPCC is committed to capitalising all efforts to achieve the common goal of enabling this priority sector with greater acceleration,” he added. 

CPCC Assistant Managing Director Thulci Aluwihare said: “We will be working towards really understanding the market expectations and those of big brands when deciding to relocate their headquarters and offices to Sri Lanka. These insights will then be communicated to the Port City Economic Commission so that the drafting of regulations will be market-driven. The partnership with SLASSCOM will be very helpful in this regard, and we also hope to collaborate in our market outreach plan with the chamber to achieve greater effectiveness together.”