The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka in co-operation with Check Port City Colombo, part of the China Communications Construction Company Ltd., hosted a meeting that brought together representatives of the Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Commerce, business representatives from 10 Companies from Guangzhou, Sri Lankan enterprises and senior officials of the BOI.

The objectives of the conference was to establish a bilateral co-operation mechanism and to promote investment and trade co-operation between Sri Lanka and Guangzhou in a variety of sectors such as electronics, IT, Internet trading, warehouse logistics, leatherwear, food manufacturing, building materials , sanitary ware and many others.

Dr. Xiao Zhenyu, the Director-General of Guangzhou Municipal Commission of Commerce addressing the conference stated that he really wished to witness firsthand the booming Sri Lankan economy.

“Twenty years ago Guangzhou was experiencing the same environment like Sri Lanka. We want not only trading but also to promote Investment .The economic development of Guangzhou is considerable. The GDP of Guangzhou is US$ 350 billion which is higher than that of many countries. Per capita Income is US$ 20,000.Booming Guangzhou businessmen have the capacity to invest abroad. They have already moved to Malaysia and Singapore .This delegation has leading entrepreneurs and we encourage them to explore Sri Lanka’s opportunities, he stated.

According to the BoI, some of the Chinese Companies expressed interest in various sectors including internet shopping in Sri Lanka, the manufacture of Vinyl Products, electronics, telecommunications services home appliances and logistics. In those areas, the Chinese enterprises met with Sri Lankan enterprises after the forum with the purpose of entering into joint ventures, the BOI noted.