A business delegation from the Guangdong Province of China visited the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) to explore opportunities for investment in Sri Lanka.
The delegation comprised Senior Chinese State and Party officials and executives of enterprises from Guangdong particularly from the port city of Nansha. Economic relations between Colombo and Guangzhou are quite strong, since both are included in China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) strategic initiative to connect China by trade, to Asia, Africa and Europe.
The leader of the visiting delegation Chairperson Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Committee of Nansha District of Guangzhou, Huaying Zhong said their visit to Sri Lanka was to evaluate the island’s potential for trade and investment. There are many companies in Nansha which could be interested in investing in Sri Lanka. The delegation also invited the BOI to visit Guangzhou province to meet Chinese investors.
Guangzhou (formerly Canton) is a developed city on the Eastern Coast of China, where much of the country’s economic development has taken place. Hence there was considerable opportunity to pursue trade and investment with this province.
Nansha is an important port city in China and particularly developed in the area of e-commerce. Nansha is also a platform for trading with Southern China.
The Sri Lankan side pointed out to the Chinese visitors that the country is currently seeking to attract more investment in the manufacturing sector, particularly focusing on value added production in targeted sectors such as electronic, apparel and rubber based products.
The BOI delegation informed the Chinese visitors that the manufacture of electrical equipment is one targeted area which could provide an opportunity for future Chinese investments.
Another area of potential co-operation is in the manufacture of jewellery which is highly developed in Nansha, since the city has a large pool of professional craftsman in that industry.
Nansha also has a developed diamond cutting industry which also exists in Sri Lanka. The Chinese delegation said they will promote Sri Lanka in China and especially in sectors such as Agriculture, harbour related activities and seafood production.