Invest in Lanka, Malaysians say

"We look for opportunities in places where people are reluctant to go that's entrepreneurship," said Tan Sri Soong Siew Hoong, secretary-general of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM), according to Bernama reports.

In an interview with Bernama on Wednesday, Soong was asked whether unrest in Sri Lanka where more than 700 people have died in violence since earlier this year, deterred investor interest.

"If not for newspaper reports-newspapers are not friendly to Sri Lanka-we would have had a bigger delegation. But we are looking for opportunities in places like this, " he said during a four-day visit by an eight-member delegation from ACCCIM.

The umbrella chamber represents more than 24,000 Malaysian Chinese companies through 17 constituent-member chambers.

"We are looking for new business opportunities and we are not too worried about the Tigers (LTTE)," Soong said. Among those in the delegation is Michael Shak, a director at Bluecros, one of Malaysia's largest manufacturers of energy-saving systems, a company that has invested in many countries where others are reluctant to go like Iran, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh or parts of Africa. But he is also disappointed with his Sri Lankan experience.

"I have been visiting this country regularly in the past five years looking for a joint venture partner to manufacture energy-saving systems that provide a minimum 30 percent savings but each time I find a partner, the government changes," he lamented, saying that problems arose in getting approval when administrations changed. Soong, who has his own trading company, said they were looking to buy tapioca

Meanwhile, according to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) the country which has witnessed the greatest boost to its tourism figures in the first quarter of 2006 has been the Maldives, with the number of international tourists visiting up 97 per cent.

Similarly Thailand has seen a 29 per cent boost in visitor numbers and Sri Lanka a 25 per cent rise.