|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 23 June 2002 |
 |
|
 |
Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Donors prepared to invest in SL by Indunil Thenuwara The UK government has pledged eight million Sterling Pounds towards economic development in Sri Lanka while several large US companies such as General Electric, Caterpillar and Lockheed have expressed interest in ventures in the island, Minister of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy, Investment Promotion and Constitutional Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris said in Colombo last week. "Donors have said they can put money towards Sri Lanka's development right now; that they do not have to wait till the peace process moves further. They are prepared to implement projects in a small way for the moment and expand", the Minister said, addressing the national seminar on 'Sri Lanka Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange (SPX)' where he was the chief guest. "The SPX may not be a high profile project, but it is doing a lot of work at ground level, assisting companies looking for partners. The network has 61 international centres in 32 countries. They need to provide accurate and up-to-date information," he said. The seminar was organised by Small and Medium Enterprise Developers (SMED), which hosts the SPX in Sri Lanka. The SPX, a component of the UNIDO Integrated Industrial Support Programme, was launched here in May 2001. Its main objective is to help the industrial sector to build partnerships between large, small or between small companies. It has already visited and registered over 350 enterprises in the engineering and machinery sector, electronics and electrical, coir, rubber and plastic sections. Minister of Industries Rohitha Bogollagama told the seminar that although Sri Lanka is a small country, we have our strengths. "We can meet challenges through subcontracting. "Through partnerships and outsourcing, we will receive guidance and technical know-how which will result in better products at cheaper rates," he said. Nihal Abeysekera, President SPX, Chairman SMED and Senior Vice President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Sri Lanka, which promoted SMED with Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, said they hope to launch a common platform for Indian and Sri Lankan companies. "Two of the companies introduced through SPX have gone for long-term partnerships," he said. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
