Sri Lanka Summit in Singapore a success

Standard Chartered Bank Sri Lanka CEO Jim McCabe 

The full day Sri Lanka Summit in Singapore organised recently by Finance Asia was a major success with nearly 350 in attendance. A gamut of Sri Lankan speakers as well as international and regional experts as panelists joined in to promote the attractiveness of Sri Lanka as a destination for investments, both direct and portfolio, as well as showcasing the country as a hub to tap opportunities in Asia. Comments from the Government and private sector representatives emphasised that Sri Lanka is open and attractive for business. The Summit also highlighted several challenges facing Sri Lanka and how the Government was addressing those issues.  It also effectively conveyed the country’s efforts to plug in to the global value chain via a host of progressive strategies.

The Chief Guest was Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and other top level speakers included Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva, Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran, BOI Director General Duminda Ariyasinghe, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Singapore Nimal Weeraratne, and Urban Development Authority Director General Nayana Mawilmada.

Among private sector business leaders were CSE Chairman Vajira Kulathilaka, Jetwing Chairman Hiran Cooray, Maharaja Group Executive Director Nimal Cooke, Sunshine Holdings Group MD Vish Govindasamy, Singer Sri Lanka Group CEO Asoka Pieris, Ceylon Biscuits Group MD Sheamalee Wickramasinghe, DFCC Bank’s CEO Arjun Fernando, Brandix CFO Hasitha Premaratne, DEG Sri Lanka Representative Geeth Balasuriya, Stax Inc Director Dr. Kumudu Gunasekera, Colombo International Container Terminals General Manager Commercial and Marketing Tissa Wickramasinghe, Colombo Law Alliance Attorney-at-Law Asanga Gunawansa, Asia Securities Chairman Dumith Fernando, Lynear Wealth Management Managing Director Dr. Naveen Gunawardane, Religare Capital Markets (Singapore) Ltd Director  Research Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, Bartleet Religare Securities Ltd. Managing Director R . Muralidaran, Perpetual Treasuries Ltd. CEO/Head of Group Treasury Kasun Palisena.

Among international speakers were Shangri La’s Vice Chairman Madhu Rao, Camso Loadstar Chairman Pierre Pringiers, Port City Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Liang Thow Ming , International Enterprise Singapore South Asia Group Director Benjamin Yap, IFC Head of PPP Isabel Chatterton, Julius Baer & Co Ltd., Head of Research Asia Mark Mathews and Credit Suisse Head of Frontier Market Research Chate Benchavitvilai.

TW Corp Chairman Thilan Wijesinghe, Ceylon Chamber Chief Economist Anushka Wijesinha, Daily FT Editor Nisthar Cassim and Lanka Business Online Chairman Ranjan Hullugalle also attended.

The Summit’s International Lead Sponsor Standard Chartered Bank Sri Lanka CEO Jim McCabe also spoke. Co-sponsors of the Summit were Asia Securities and Perpetual Treasuries. Colombo Stock Exchange was the Strategic Partner. Supporting organisations included the American Chamber of Commerce, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, European Chamber of Commerce SL, Oxford Business Group and the Singapore Sri Lanka Business Association. SriLankan Airlines was the Official Airline Partner and Daily FT the Media Partner. Daily FT publishes its first coverage report on the Summit today with more in the next few days.

Summit a step in the right direction: Standard Chartered Bank SL CEO

International Sponsor of the Sri Lanka Summit in Singapore, the Standard Chartered Bank Sri Lanka CEO Jim McCabe in his opening remarks said Sri Lanka is targeting to become a strategic destination that linked in to expanding value chain in Asia. 

“Sri Lanka also offers many opportunities for investors to engage in the growth and improvement of infrastructure, production base as well as training opportunities to a growing educated labour force,” he said.

According to McCabe, successful nations tend to be business friendly and he commended the Government for its far sighted policies to encourage and incentivise businesses to join in the development process. He also said the summit features a wide array of leaders of the Sri Lankan economy and their insights will be very useful. 

“This summit is a step in the right direction to attract investments, engender biz development and create additional opportunities for wealth creation in this wonderful country,” said McCabe who also thanked Finance Asia for their partnership in this endeavour.