Top Japanese delegation with 100 potential investors due in SL in January

Japanese companies are looking for investment opportunities in South Asia particularly India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which is growing at a rate of 5-6 per cent. Japanese companies have also found that Sri Lanka is well located in the region and can also reach the African continent in the future, said Japanese Ambassador in Sri Lanka Kenichi Suganuma, Chief Guest at the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo on Tuesday.

Aitken Spence PLC won the Best Cor porat e C i t i zen Sustainability Award 2017 while Hatton National Bank PLC and Cargills ( Ceylon) PLC became the first and the second runner up of the competition, respectively.

The ambassador said one of the biggest Japanese events in Sri Lanka will be the visit of a delegation from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce headed by a well- known businessman along with 100 Japanese businessmen expected in January next year. Their visit will also pave the way for Japanese tourists to visit Sri Lanka. A 30 per cent increase in Japanese tourists to Sri Lanka is also expected, he said.

Referring to his stay in Sri Lanka for the past two and a half years, he said he was impressed by many Sri Lankan companies on their awareness on corporate social responsibility and how they care about society.

He said Sri Lanka’s corporate sustainability had been there for 14 years long before the UN even adopted such a sustainability goal. Referring to corporate longevity in Japan, he said over 30,000 companies in Japan have thrived for more than 100 years due to diligence shown towards social responsibility. It was also because of the interaction the companies had with society at large.

He said the Japanese relationship with Sri Lanka had been growing steadily during the past 30 months following the formation of the new gove r nment in Sri Lanka.

“We have been trying to strengthen the relationship politically with the new government and also with busi- nesses following the growing interest in Sri Lanka.” At a seminar held in Tokyo organised by JETRO there was a large group of Japanese businessmen inquiring about investment possibilities in Sri Lanka. “There is a growing interest in Japan about Sri Lanka," he said.

David Bent, a Global Expert on Corporate Sustainability delivered the keynote speech. Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Rajendra Theagarajah also spoke.

He said the Japanese relationship with Sri Lanka had been growing steadily during the past 30 months following the formation of the new government in Sri Lanka.