Sarath Amunugama invites German Business Delegation from Cologne to expand German investment in Sri Lanka

Dr Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion received a high-powered German business delegation from Cologne.  The delegation consisted of senior officials from the reputed companies headed by Mr. Ernst Vleer, President of Pro Gast and official representative of the City of Cologne, Mr. Guido Gesselmann, Vice President of Eloma, Mr. Dirk Lienkamper, President, Meiko, Mr. Michael Hertel, Regional Manager of Meiko, and Mr Virendra Dutt , Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Meiko Asia. Chairman/ Director General Dhammika Perera, Mr. Duminda Ariyasinghe, Executive Director (Promotion), Mrs. Gowri Rajapaksa, Executive Director (Investment), Ms Nilupul De Silva, Director (Promotion) and Mr. Dilip S.Samarasinghe Director (Media & Publicity) represented the BOI at this meeting.

The three companies represented are engaged in manufacturing equipment for clients such as hotels, flight kitchens and even for submarines. Meiko make industrial washing machines, Eloma are major manufacturers of industrial ovens and Pro Gast have funded many Sri Lankan promotional activities and developed exchanges between the German city of Cologne and Sri Lanka.

They are interested in Sri Lanka to identify potential markets and also explore possibilities of investing in the country. This visit by the German enterprises is the follow-up of an earlier BOI promotional mission to Germany in September 2008, which was undertaken in collaboration with Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Frankfurt. 

Minister Amunugama welcomed this delegation and described the current status of economic relations between Sri Lanka and Germany. He added that tourism plays an important role in the development of the hotel sector.  India’s growth would also boost demand for travel to Sri Lanka.  Currently there are approximately 147 flights per week to India serving 15 destinations.  In addition the Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and India has boosted bilateral trade between the two countries.  Hence   German trade and investment with Sri Lanka would benefit considerably from the immense contribution of the Indian economic growth.  

Minister Amunugama said that it was important for German companies to engage in large-scale projects in Sri Lanka. In the past, German arrivals to Sri Lanka represented the bulk of the local tourism industry.  Currently it is estimated that half a million Germans have already visited in Sri Lanka, making the country a well-known tourist destination in Germany.

Germany is the second largest investor to Sri Lanka from the European Union. Many of the German companies in Sri Lanka are global leaders in their field. They invest in sectors such as apparel, hosiery, knitwear, surf sails, textiles, electronic products, light/heavy engineering, rubber based toys, chemicals and dyes, gems and jewellery, tourism and recreational projects.

Minister Amunugama added that there are currently 40 German investments in Sri Lanka and it would be a good idea for the delegation to meet some existing German Investors to appreciate fully the liberal nature of Sri Lanka’s investment regime.

Economic relations between Sri Lanka and Germany were on a sound footing with both countries having signed a bilateral agreement on investment protection and a double tax treaty. Thanks to the European Union’s GSP+ a total of 7,200 products made in Sri Lanka could be imported duty free into the European Union, the world’s largest trading block.

What was important was to strengthen the airlinks to Sri Lanka by restarting charter flights from Germany. The German enterprises described their activities and the nature of their business.  Currently their market is growing at 8-9% per year.  Their main interest was in achieving an important presence in South Asia, but also to look at opportunities for trade and investment in Sri Lanka.