S’pore FM in town next week with top biz team
Published
: 12:27 am May 18, 2012
The Foreign
Minister of Singapore will be visiting Sri Lanka from 26 May to 2 June 2012
accompanied by a high-powered delegation from the Singapore Business Federation
(SBF). One of the key expectations of the delegation is to establish mutually-beneficial relationships with key Government officials as well as the Sri Lankan business community during this visit.
Trade between Sri Lanka and Singapore is expected to be projected to a new level and significantly enhanced with the visit to Sri Lanka of K. Shanmugam, Foreign Minister of Singapore, accompanied by a high profile business delegation.
A Singapore Business Forum is being organised in Sri Lanka to coincide with the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore.
A highly-successful pre-mission business seminar titled ‘Business Opportunities in Sri Lanka’ organised by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and supported by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the trade facilitation arm of the Ministry of Trade of Singapore and the Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore, was held last month at which Shamil Mendis, President of the Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council, H.Z. Cassim, Deputy Chairman of Overseas Realty, owners of the World Trade Centre, Colombo 1 and Havelock City, a major Singaporean investor in Sri Lanka and D.G.A.P. Dharmapriya, Minister (Commercial) of the High Commission of Sri Lanka, among others, made presentations.
The Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be organising the ‘Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Forum’ on Wednesday, 30 May 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grand Ballroom, Galadari Hotel, Colombo.
Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman Dr. Nalaka Godahewa and Board of Investment Executive Director (Investment) Y.G. Rajapakse are expected to speak at the forum. Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen will attend the event.
The forum is expected to provide an opportunity for the local business community to interact with the members of this delegation.
The business delegation will comprise of representatives from various sectors such as construction, infrastructure, PPPs, urban development, transportation, energy sector, legal services, hotels and resorts, supplies and freight, software, education services, retail sector, property development, consumer electronics, marine services, financial services, integrated city development, furniture, etc. The business forum will be followed by one-to-one business meetings and a networking lunch with the delegation.
The Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Forum is expected to be well attended by chief executives and officers of organisations in the private sector as it would not only enhance business links with Singapore but also provide insights and information on incentives for foreign investment as well as Government policy and plans to develop the economy.
http://www.ft.lk/2012/05/18/spore-fm-in-town-next-week-with-top-biz-team/
Singapore Foreign Minister visiting next week
Sunday May 20, 2012, Sunday TimesSingaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam is visiting Sri Lanka from May 26-June 2, leading a powerful business delegation, officials said on Wednesday. The businessmen are from the Singapore Business Federation (SBF). “One of the key expectations of the delegation is to establish mutually beneficial relationships with key government officials as well as the Sri Lankan business community during this visit,” the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) said in a statement. The Sri Lanka – Singapore Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be organizing the “Sri Lanka- Singapore Business Forum on Wednesday, May 30 to coincide with the visit.
Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Nalaka Godahewa, Chairman of Sri Lanka Tourism and Ms. Y. G. Rajapakse, Executive Director (Investment), Board of Investment are expected to speak at the Forum.
The delegation comprises representatives from various sectors such as Construction, Infrastructure, PPPs, Urban Development, Transportation, Energy , Legal Services, Hotels and Resorts, Supplies and Freight, Software, Education services, Retail, Property Development, Consumer Electronics, Marine Services, Financial services, Integrated city development, Furniture etc.
Details Published on Tuesday, 29
May 2012 15:49
The
Foreign Minister of Singapore K. Shanmugam will arrive on a five-day official
visit this morning. He will be in Sri Lanka until 2nd June. The
visit has been undertaken on an invitation extended by the Minister of External
Affairs Professor G.L Peiris. He is expected to meet President Mahinda
Rajapaksa and will hold bilateral discussions with the Minister of External
Affairs during his visit.
Bilateral
interactions between the two countries have been intensified since the visit of
President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Singapore and it was agreed with the Singaporean
leaders during that visit to enhance cooperation in a number of sectors,
including trade, investment and education.
A
Singaporean business delegation also accompanied the Singaporean Minister. The
visiting minister is scheduled to address a business forum tomorrow where a
large number of Singaporean and Sri Lankan business personnel are expected to
attend. The Ministry of External Affairs said that the main focus of the
Business Forum is to encourage interactions between small and medium scale
entrepreneurs of both countries.
The visit
comes as a follow up to the Memorandum of Understanding signed during
President’s visit to Singapore, for Promoting Investment Co-operation between
the two countries. The MOU was signed between the Board of Investment of Sri
Lanka and the Singapore Business Federation.
The
visiting Minister is scheduled to visit the Northern and the Eastern Provinces
and have discussions with the respective Governors and other senior government
officials of the two provinces. During this visit he will be able to view the
socio-economic development taking place in the regions.(niz)
Singaporean foreign minister to tour Sri Lanka's former war zones |
English.news.cn 2012-05-29 18:12:37
|
Singaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam will have discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Sri Lankan counterpart G. L Peiris during his visit, the statement said.
The statement said a Singaporean business delegation will also accompany Shanmugam who is due to address a business forum on 30 May where a large number of Singaporean and Sri Lankan business personnel will participate.
"Minister Shanmugam is also scheduled to visit the Northern and the Eastern Provinces and have discussions with the respective governors and other senior government officials. This visit will also provide him an opportunity to witness firsthand the socio- economic development taking place in the regions," the statement said.
This will be the first such tour undertaken by a senior Singaporean official.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-05/29/c_131618599.htm
Sri Lanka, Singapore to ink first-ever B2B MoU in Colombo today
Published
: 12:52 am May 30, 2012
As Sri Lankan
and Singapore business chambers ink a landmark MoU in Colombo today,
Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen has hailed it saying that
it is more than a bilateral trade event.“The 30 May MoU is not only a milestone in our bilateral trade, but also a historic B2B linkage between two promising business hubs in Asia and as a result, it’s a momentous trade event for the overall region,” Minister Bathiudeen told his officials yesterday.
On 30 May, the first-ever signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council will be signed followed by the first ever Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Forum at Galadari Hotel, ushering in a new era in historic bilateral relations between both countries.
“As for the business forum, it’s the first of this nature in our bilateral trade history but more importantly, it is a milestone in our trade since it shows that our business to business level linkages too have grown considerably, thereby showing the importance of our fourth largest international trade partner,” said Bathiudeen.
Welcoming K Shanmugam, the Foreign Minister and the Law Minister of Singapore, the Sri Lankan Minister said: “The fact that K. Shanmugam being accompanied by a strong business delegation involving small, medium and large scales alone holds promise for our bilateral trade with Singapore which is now at $ 1.85 b.
Such forward looking initiatives will strongly stimulate any unrealised trade potential between the two economies and will also help us to advance towards $ 20 Bn export target by 2020”.
The event is organised by the Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce to coincide the visit of Foreign Minister of Singapore K.Shanmugam from 26 May to 2 June. Shanmugam will accompany a high-powered delegation from the Singapore Business Federation.
“We have closed registrations for the ‘Sri Lanka – Singapore Business Forum’ much earlier than we originally expected due to the huge demand for participation from the Sri Lankan private sector” revealed Shamil Mendis, President of the Sri Lanka-Singapore Business Council. “The Forum will be followed by a B2B meeting session based on one-to-one interactions taking place between the Sri Lankan and Singaporean representatives” said Mendis who led a 14 member Sri Lankan business delegation to Singapore in 2010 June, successfully linking them up with no less than 160 Singapore firms of all three scales.
Singapore’s total trade with Sri Lanka in 2011 amounted to $1.94 Bn, of which $ 1.53 Bn were imports to Sri Lanka. From Singapore’s end, Sri Lanka is the 37th ranked global trading partner. Singapore firms in Sri Lanka are active in property development (Overseas Realty (Ceylon) Ltd), food and beverage processing (Prima Ceylon, Asia Pacific Breweries), logistics (Keppel Logistics), telecommunications (LankaCom, subsidiary of Singapore Telecom), apparel (Ghim Li Group) and conventions and conferences (Pico Global Services). In February this year, the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation and promoting business and investment relations between the two countries, paving way for deeper collaboration between businesses of both countries.
http://www.ft.lk/2012/05/30/sri-lanka-singapore-to-ink-first-ever-b2b-mou-in-colombo-today/
Pull up your
socks Singaporean FM tells Lanka
May 30, 2012, 12:00
pm
By Mario Andree, The
Island
Visiting Singaporean
Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said Sri Lanka has to put its act
together if the country was to capitalise on several comparative advantages to
develop its economy.
A new Memorandum of
Understanding inked yesterday (see page 3)with Singapore would enable the two
countries build a deeper relationship, he said.
The Minister is here
with a 21-strong business delegation from Singapore in search of potential
opportunities for investment and networking. He said the two countries were
already enjoying beneficial arrangements.
He said Sri Lanka has
much potential to develop its economy, however giving several examples of
Singapore, the country needs to get everything in place.
"Sri Lanka is
well placed to capitalize on the benefits and opportunities offered both by
Singapore and globally, the potential in the country is unlimited compared to
Singapore, however the country needs to get everything in the right place to go
forward."
As an example, he
said Sri Lanka tourism which attracted more than 850,000 tourists last year has
major potential. But this arrival figure was poor. Singapore attracts more than
12 million visitors annually, but had little to offer compared to Sri Lanka.
"Singapore has
nothing compared to Sri Lanka to offer to tourists, Sri Lanka’s potential is
large with much more to offer. If the government capitalises on the benefits
the country had to offer the country could easily attract 20 million leisure
travelers," Shanmugam said.
He pointed out that
the country enjoyed comparative advantages from its beaches, wild life, and
scenic beauty.
Further he added that
the country had a strong educated human capital base with more than 90 percent
literacy rate which could be utilized for economic development.
Speaking at the Sri
Lanka-Singapore Business Forum Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Acting
Director General Vipula Wanigasekara urged Singaporeans to invest in the
hospitality sector.
He said that the
country was witnessing a major influx of tourists and the advantages were high
for new investors. Highlighting several available tourism zones for
development, he urged the delegation to consider investing in the sector.
Singaporean investment to the country last year amounted to US$ 53 million, increasing the total investment to US$ 428 million with 108 companies registered in Sri Lanka.
Singaporean investment to the country last year amounted to US$ 53 million, increasing the total investment to US$ 428 million with 108 companies registered in Sri Lanka.
Industry and Commerce
Minister Rishad Bathiudeen highlighted several more opportunities available for
Singapore businesses, given the advantage of two neighbouring giants Sri Lanka
has agreements with.
He said discussions
were ongoing to revive the Sri Lanka-Singapore Comprehensive Partnership, which
would mutually benefit both countries.
He pointed out that
several opportunities in the agricultural sector, especially in the dairy
industry and industrial sectors, business processing outsourcing,
telecommunication and infrastructure development.
Posted on 30 May
2012. ITN
Sri Lanka and
Singapore have signed two agreements related to investments.
A delegation headed
by the Foreign Minister of Singapore K. Shanmugam arrived in the island last
night. Deputy Minister Neomal Perera welcomed the delegation on their arrival
for a five-day visit to Sri Lanka. The delegation intends to enter into several
agreements with Sri Lanka. Accordingly the first agreement was inked in Colombo
today. It is expected to further enhance trade between the two countries. The
signing of the agreement took place under the supervision of the Singaporean
Foreign Minister K. Shanmugham and Minister Risath Bathiyuideen.
Expressing views on this occasion, the Singaporean Minister referred to how they witnessed all communities reaping the benefits of peace after terrorism being uprooted from the country. Last year’s economic growth clearly indicates the extent of Sri Lanka’s success in economic development. Sri Lanka’s economic stability and the confidence place in investments in the island has also directly contributed to this success. Taking these facts into consideration, it should be mentioned that Sri Lanka is a country more conducive for investments sans obstacles. As such the Foreign Minister of Singapore said he was inviting other countries to undertake investments in the island nation.
Meanwhile the Singaporean Foreign Minister met his Sri Lankan counterpart Prof. G.L. Peiris today. The meeting took place at the External Affairs Ministry.
Expressing views on this occasion, the Singaporean Minister referred to how they witnessed all communities reaping the benefits of peace after terrorism being uprooted from the country. Last year’s economic growth clearly indicates the extent of Sri Lanka’s success in economic development. Sri Lanka’s economic stability and the confidence place in investments in the island has also directly contributed to this success. Taking these facts into consideration, it should be mentioned that Sri Lanka is a country more conducive for investments sans obstacles. As such the Foreign Minister of Singapore said he was inviting other countries to undertake investments in the island nation.
Meanwhile the Singaporean Foreign Minister met his Sri Lankan counterpart Prof. G.L. Peiris today. The meeting took place at the External Affairs Ministry.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 - 01:13 PM
A meeting is currently being held between visiting Singaporean foreign minister M. Ganeshalingam & his Sri Lankan counter part Professor G.L. Peiris.
According to informed sources from the ministry of External Affairs, talks are said to focus on issues common to both countries.
The visit by Singaporean Foreign Minister M. Ganeshalingam comes in the wake of an invitation extended to him by President Mahinda Rajapaksas visit to the country.
Ganeshalingam is due in the country for a 4 day visit while he is also scheduled to meet with Sri Lankan Minister of Justice Rauff Hakeem.
The visiting Singapore Foreign Minister conducts
talks with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 12:49, SLBC
The visiting
Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam has conducted talks with
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Professor G.L. Peiris. Special attention has been
focused on issues of bilateral importance. Mr. Shanmugam will remain in Sri
Lanka till the 2nd of next month. He is scheduled to meet local
businessmen with the objective of enhancing trade and investment
opportunities. The Sri Lanka Board of Investments has signed an
agreement of understanding on cooperation in the investment sector with the
Singapore Businessmen’s’ Association.
The Singapore Foreign Minister is also scheduled to engage in a tour in the northern and eastern provinces. Sri Lanka and Singapore have expressed willingness to expand relations following a visit of the Sri Lankan President to Singapore in February this year. Accordingly, priority has been given to the enhancement of cooperation in the trade, investment and education sectors. |
Wednesday ,
30 May 2012
The Singaporean
Foreign Minister K. Shanmugan arrived in the country yesterday for a three-day
official visit.
The Foreign Minister and his delegation arrived at the Katunayake airport 11.45 Tuesday night.
The delegation was welcomed by Deputy Minster of External Affairs Nieomal Perera.
The Ministry of External Affairs noted that, the visiting Foreign Minister will meet with his Sri Lankan counterpart Prof. G.L. Peiris and minister of justice Rauff Hakeem and several other high-ranking state officials.
In addition,the Singaporean Foreign Minister will also attend the summit in Colombo organised by the Singapore Business Forum.
The Ministry of External Affair noted that the Singaporean Foreign Minister will visit Trincomalee and Jaffna during his stay and hold discussions with the governors of the north and east.
The Foreign Minister and his delegation arrived at the Katunayake airport 11.45 Tuesday night.
The delegation was welcomed by Deputy Minster of External Affairs Nieomal Perera.
The Ministry of External Affairs noted that, the visiting Foreign Minister will meet with his Sri Lankan counterpart Prof. G.L. Peiris and minister of justice Rauff Hakeem and several other high-ranking state officials.
In addition,the Singaporean Foreign Minister will also attend the summit in Colombo organised by the Singapore Business Forum.
The Ministry of External Affair noted that the Singaporean Foreign Minister will visit Trincomalee and Jaffna during his stay and hold discussions with the governors of the north and east.
Sri Lanka, Singapore sign MoU to expand trade
and investments
Sri
Lanka & Singapore sign bilateral agreement aimed at increasing trade among
the two nations
Reposted
from Colombo PageMay 30, Colombo: Sri Lanka and Singapore Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand trade economic relationship between the two countries.
Bilateral discussions held today at the Ministry of External Affairs in Colombo between Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris and the vising Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore K. Shanmugam focused on expanding trade and promoting economic cooperation between the two countries.
The two ministers have discussed a range of measures which will be helpful in implementing the MoU on promoting investment co-operation, signed between the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and the Singapore Business Federation in February.
According to a statement released by the Sri Lankan external Affairs Ministry, the Visiting Foreign Minister has noted that circumstances in Sri Lanka at this time are conducive to a significant expansion of trade and investment, especially in such areas as tourism infrastructure and services.
He has assured his government’s support in strengthening relations between the business communities in the two countries.
Information communication technology, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals were identified as priority fields for collaboration.
The two ministers have agreed to strengthen continuing programs between the two countries including the ongoing program by Singapore providing training opportunities for Sri Lankan public officials.
Prior to meeting with Minister Peiris, Minister Shunmugam has inaugurated the Singapore Business Forum at Hotel Galadari where the Singapore Business Federation and the Sri Lanka Singapore Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in Colombo signed an agreement to improve cooperation between the two organizations.
In a statement, SBF said the MoU will pave the way for greater scope for collaboration.
“This includes the promoting a favourable business climate, increasing investment flows, improving information exchange, and protecting the intellectual property of members,” the SBF said.
“it (the MoU) is a milestone in our bilateral trade relations since it shows that our business-to-business level linkages have grown considerably,” Teo Siong Seng, who signed the MoU in his capacity as SBF vice-chairman has said.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Sri Lanka’s Industry & Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiyutheen and the Singapore Foreign Minister.
http://emergingfrontiersblog.com/2012/05/31/sri-lanka-singapore-sign-mou-to-expand-trade-and-investments/
Posted on 01 June
2012. ,ITN
The Singaporean
Foreign Minister has said that he is astounded over the development taking
place in Sri Lanka.
The Singaporean
Minister K. Shanmugam expressed this surprise when he met President Rajapaksa
at Temple Trees this morning. The development that has taken place within a
short period of three years in areas in the North and East which was embroiled
in a conflict for 30 years is enormous. The Sri Lankan Government has launched
many programmes to resettle the displaced families and improve the
infrastructure in these areas.
The Singaporean Foreign Minister emphasized that when considering this development, Sri Lanka can be considered as a country not second to other developed countries and under these circumstances it had the ability to sort out any problem. The Singaporean Minister visited many parts of the island during the last few days and had the opportunity of exchanging views with the civilians. At these discussions, he was able to find that the civilians had full trust in the present Government’s programmes.
The visiting Minister agreed to provide training to state officials, provide technical and consultative support in Commonwealth sports activities and entice investments based at the Magampura Harbour.
The President referred to the Singaporean Minister the conducive environment created within the country as a result of infrastructure development and economic stability. Deputy Minister Neomal Perera and President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunge were among those present at this meeting.
The Singaporean Foreign Minister emphasized that when considering this development, Sri Lanka can be considered as a country not second to other developed countries and under these circumstances it had the ability to sort out any problem. The Singaporean Minister visited many parts of the island during the last few days and had the opportunity of exchanging views with the civilians. At these discussions, he was able to find that the civilians had full trust in the present Government’s programmes.
The visiting Minister agreed to provide training to state officials, provide technical and consultative support in Commonwealth sports activities and entice investments based at the Magampura Harbour.
The President referred to the Singaporean Minister the conducive environment created within the country as a result of infrastructure development and economic stability. Deputy Minister Neomal Perera and President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunge were among those present at this meeting.
Singaporean FM praises Lanka's development
Saturday, 2 June 2012 , Daily NewsThe massive strides in development made by Sri Lanka amidst various difficulties is most amazing, Singapore Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam said when he called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa for discussions at Temple Trees yesterday.
He said looking at the progress achieved by Sri Lanka within a short period of three years to resettle displaced persons in the North and rebuild those areas subjected to a 30 year conflict the country can be considered as second to none in the developed world.
This proved that Sri Lankans had the ability to resolve and overcome any problem.
The Singaporean Foreign Minister who said that he had visited several parts of the country during the last few days added that he was able to witness the infrastructure development work undertaken in the North and the steps taken for the welfare of its people. He said he also interacted with people in the North and they all expressed confidence in the policy and program of work adopted by the government in their areas.
He said Singapore was prepared to assist Sri Lanka in providing training to its State officials and lend technology and training as regards Commonwealth Games activities.
A press release by the Presidents Media Division said at this meeting special attention was drawn towards improving the production capacity of the Prima Company and obtaining the support of Singaporean investors towards providing facilities for ships at the Magampura Port.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa pointed out that Sri Lanka possessed developed infrastructure facilities and the economic stability conducive for investment.
External Affairs Deputy Minister Neomal Perera, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunge and other officials were also present at the discussion.
Singapore
reiterates commitment to assist SL's reconstruction process
Sunday, June 03 , 2012 - 11.15 GMT
Sunday, June 03 , 2012 - 11.15 GMT
Singapore reaffirmed
its commitment to strengthen bilateral ties with Sri Lanka and assist the
country's reconstruction process to achieve genuine national reconciliation.
Singapore's Minister
for Foreign Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam who concluded his four-day visit to
Sri Lanka from 29 May - 1 June has said that Singapore was happy to see that
peace had returned to Sri Lanka, and that during his visit to the war-battered
Trincomalee in the East and Jaffna in the North, he saw the significant
progress in physical reconstruction in the areas that he visited.
Minister Shanmugam,
who returned to Singapore Saturday, has also said that while reconciliation
cannot be imposed from the outside, well-wishers of Sri Lanka, such as
Singapore is looking forward to an "inclusive process that would include
addressing the emotive sentiments of people affected by the decades-long
conflict."
The Minister during
his meeting with President MahindaRajapaksa reiterated his government's offer
of technical assistance which Prime Minister Lee HsienLoong had made during
President Rajapaksa's State Visit to Singapore in February this year.
Singapore Ministry of
Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Singapore was prepared to enhance the
existing technical cooperation programme for Sri Lanka under the Singapore
Cooperation Programme.
The enhancement would
focus on the areas of human resource development and economic development,
which were Sri Lanka's current priorities.
During the meeting
with Minister Shanmugam, President Rajapaksa has expressed his appreciation for
Singapore's offer to assist Sri Lanka in its development and apprised the
Minister of the central and provincial governments' efforts towards
post-conflict development and reconstruction.
Minister Shanmugam
also met the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka Dr. ShiraniBandaranayake, who has
expressed her interest in cooperating with Singapore in areas of legal training
and the Minister has assured her that Singapore would assist as best as it
could.
