Trade & Investment

Trade and investment activities in Sri Lanka benefit from the country’s location along busy Indian Ocean trade routes, access to the larger markets of India and Pakistan, abundant agricultural and industrial exports, and a young skilled workforce. Value-added textiles have joined tea, rubber and spices to become a major export earner in recent years, while foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows hit record highs in 2017. Still, both FDI and exports continue to miss government targets, and subdued export growth and rising fuel imports have pushed the trade deficit to new highs. With this in mind, the country is embarking on a bold reform programme that should offer substantial new support mechanisms for trade and investment. This chapter contains interviews with Greg Hands, UK Minister of State for Trade Policy; and Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade; and a viewpoint from Stuart Tait, Regional Head of Commercial Banking, Asia Pacific, HSBC.