Dhammika Fernando was elected as the new Chairman of the Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA) at the 42nd Annual General Meeting at the Kingsbury Hotel recently.
Sean Umagiliya was unanimously elected as the Honorary secretary of the Association and Tyronne Weckasinghe as the Deputy Secretary while Fazal Abdeen and Nishantha Bakmeege were elected as Vice Chairmen.
M.H.Z.M. Marzook will remain as the Honorary Treasurer, while Manjula Mahadanaarachchi will deputise him as Deputy Treasurer of the Association.
The Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki was the chief guest while the Sate Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama and Director General of Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Ms. Renuka Weerakoon were the guests of honour.
FTZMA is the leading Association representing the foreign direct investors in the various export processing zones in Sri Lanka. Since it commenced its operation from Katunayake Free Trade Zone over 40 years ago.
Newly appointed Chairman Dhammika Fernando said, “We should not underestimate the current predicament of exporters. We are not totally out of the doldrums and the business-as-usual environment has not set in.
“Last year was an incredibly tough year, and while we have shown agility and resilience, we have not emerged from the doldrums unscathed. The magnitude of the conundrum is still to be determined, but we are acutely aware of the difficulties that lie ahead.
“Despite the apparent end of the pandemic, exporters are facing another global crisis, compounded by the crippling local financial crisis. The looming economic slowdown in Europe and the USA, our major export destinations, poses a severe threat to our exports.
“The increase in corporate and personal taxes, unfavourable forex rates, and the abnormal increase in the cost of commodities, particularly energy, have caused our production costs to skyrocket, eroding our global competitiveness.
“As a result, our export figures have taken a hit, and many major industrial exporters are downsizing, shutting down operations, or relocating. The SME sector has been particularly hard-hit, with the withdrawal of loan moratoriums and the contraction of large-scale enterprises having a cascading effect.
“We fervently hope that the authorities will realise the seriousness of the situation and take swift action to prevent mass-scale furloughing, job losses, and closures that will ultimately lead to dwindling foreign income.
“The FTZMA strongly believes that our country will recover from the current difficult economic situation faced by our members and the present Government would formulate policies and take action in the right direction to foster the socio-economic progress of Sri Lanka and will bring back the confidence of all investors.”