Sri Lanka should improve manufacturing sector rather than rely on services
When Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah, High Commissioner of Malaysia in Sri Lanka met entrepreneurs at the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka last week, some of them pointed out the difficulties in penetrating the Malaysian market.
The exchange occurred after Mr. Abdullah spoke on bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Dilantha De Silva, COO, Bio Extracts (Pvt) Ltd which deals with herbal products, told Mr Abdullah that they were trying to export some herbal products to Malaysia but the authorities in that country were asking the same question over and over again without giving any reasons. Mr. Abdullah then asked him to supply the details about the matter so that he could find out the exact matter and find a solution.
Amil Sammoon, Managing Director, Precious Ceylon Sapphire Cutters Ltd, said they were interested in exporting more Sri Lankan gems to Malaysia to which the High Commissioner said that a market for gems needs to be created as there was a preference for more gold and jewellery.
While explaining about the bilateral trade between the two countries, Mr. Abdullah said that exports from Malaysia to Sri Lanka were more than what is exported to that country from Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan exports to Malaysia stood at US$89.5 million whereas exports from Malaysia to Sri Lanka stood at $481 million in 2015.
Discussions were pursued as to how Sri Lanka could attract investment and how to increase exports from Sri Lanka. Mr. Abdullah said that with the success Malaysia achieved in transforming its economy largely towards manufacturing, Sri Lanka too should improve its manufacturing rather than be mostly a service-oriented economy. He even said that if there is a surplus of rice, Sri Lanka should strive to export the surplus.
He said "Sri Lanka should have more investment in the manufacturing sector than the services sector".
Both countries have an abundance of resources, he said and they should explore the possibility of opening up new opportunities for trade and investment.
The main exports from Sri Lanka to Malaysia have been natural rubber and rubber-based products, precious stones, semi-precious stones, tea, apparel and coconut.
Both countries have potential for investment in infor- mation technology services, textiles, electronics and electronic items, automobile components, garments, rubber and rubber based products, agriculture, agro processing projects and manufacture of traditional goods for exports, he pointed out.
He remarked that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Sri Lanka and Malaysia will become a reality soon with negotiations expected to commence shortly.
The FTA will take trade to a higher level between the two countries; the high commissioner noted, saying that they are encouraging more FTAs with Asian countries.
He said that his country has become an ideal place for trade and investment with political and economic stability, special development area promoted by the government, with liberal investment policies and good infrastructure.