Investors in 85 countries well acquainted with strategic benefits of a Sri Lanka presence

The 2021 Invest Sri Lanka Forum held through June 7-9 provided potential investors with comprehensive coverage of policy topics and deep dive sessions on sectoral opportunities for investments as well as details on the enabling business environment in Sri Lanka.

The forum was enriched by a broad spectrum of investor testimonials from across FDI and portfolio spheres, and contributions from a galaxy of international speakers.

Further, investment opportunities and concessions in various economic sectors as well as the favorable climate for Sri Lankan capital markets, in particular equities, were examined over several sessions.

The forum had been organised by the Board of Investment, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Colombo Stock Exchange.

This Asia’s first ever virtual investment forum was held with foreign participation of 2,200 from 85 countries and 2,500 local participants.

The conference consisted of 118 insightful sessions with 108 local and foreign dignitaries, leading entrepreneurs and global experts joining to share information on foreign investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.

The forum was inaugurated by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who shared his vision for the spawning of a decade of growth culminating in the doubling of the economy.

The President pointed to the pivotal role local and foreign investors could play in the rapid transformation of the economy to reach a per capita income of US $ 8,000 within the current decade.

In inviting global investors to participate in Sri Lanka’s decade of growth, President Rajapaksa encouraged investors to seize the window of opportunity to leverage on Sri Lanka’s strategic location as the gateway to South Asia, high quality human resources, unique tourism potential, progressive policy environment and inherent political stability, among other factors.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa inaugurating Day 2 of the forum stated that Sri Lanka has embarked on a wide range of development initiatives to encourage investment and has created a conducive business environment.

Day 3 was inaugurated by Ajith Nivard Cabraal, State Minister for Money and Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reform.

Country specific sessions designed for investors from China, Japan, India, South Korea, United Kingdom, European Union and United States were also held during the forum.

SLIF 2021 was supported by the following partners and sponsors: International Finance Corporation (Knowledge Partner), Boston Consulting Group ( Strategic Partner), Port City Sri Lanka (Flagship Project Partner), Microsoft (Technology Partner), HSBC (Banking Partner), Asia Securities (Platinum Sponsor), Shangri-La (Hospitability Partner), SLASSCOM (IT-BPM Sector Partner), FairFirst Insurance (Insurance Partner), Dialog ( Communication partner), Citibank (Gold Sponsor), CAL (Gold Sponsor), NSB Fund Management (Silver Sponsor), CT CLSA (Silver Sponsor), NDBIB (Silver Sponsor), Melstacorp (Bronze Sponsor), Softlogic Stockbrokers (Bronze Sponsor), CIMA (Skills Development Partner) and CFA Sri Lanka (Investment Professionals Partner).

Forum sessions can be accessed via www.invest-srilanka.lk in replay mode.