Influential Sri Lankan business leaders visit US

A high-powered team comprising Sri Lanka’s most influential business leaders visited the United States this week for a roundtable parley among other meetings with US multinational corporations to promote Sri Lanka as an attractive investment destination, corporate circles in Colombo said. The October 7-11 visit was organized by the Business Council for International Understanding, a private- sector entity. The trip took the delegation to New York, Washington, D. C. and Boston.

The diverse and dynamic group of top Sri Lankan CEOs representing a broad range of sectors comprised Mahesh Amalean, Chairman, MAS Holdings (interests - Textiles, Manufactur- ing, IT, Apparel); Duminda Ariyasinghe, Executive Director, Sri Lanka Board of Investment; Kris Canekeratne, Sri Lankanorigin but US- based Chairman and CEO, Virtusa ( IT, Data Management, Technology); Jeevan Gnanam, CEO, Orion Development ( Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Construction, PPP); Ajit Gunewardene, Deputy Chairman, John Keells Group ( Food and Retail, Consumer Goods, Transportation); Harry Jayawardena, Chairman, Aitken Spence ( Logistics, IT, Ports, Infrastructure, Consumer Goods); Ashroff Omar, CEO, Brandix (IT, Tech, Textiles, Manufacturing); Lawrence Perera, CEO, Micro Panda ( Auto, Auto Manufacturing, OEM); Sumal Perera, Chair- man, Access Group ( Auto, Finance, Insurance) and Vijaya Ratnayake, President Emeritus, American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka.

The US Embassy in Colombo confirmed the visit saying the purpose of the trip was to facilitate business-to-business connections and highlight opportunities for US exports and investments in Sri Lanka. No other details were provided.

Other sources said the delegation participated in a 2- day roundtable on October 8-9 in New York where business leaders were expected to have apprised US multinational corporations and other corporate on the positive changes happening in Sri Lanka for investment.