China-South Asia Exposition was co-hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Peoples Government of Yunnan Province and the South Asian countries were invited to join forces in participating the event. The main theme of the event was “expanding trade in service, boosting investment-centered cooperation, accelerating inter-connectivity and jointly construction economic corridors”.

The series of activities were held during the Exposition period including commodities exhibition, investment promotion meetings, sourcing event, China-South Asia Economic and Trade Senior Officials Forum, the Expo launch, China-South Asia Business Forum, the ASEAN Chinese Entrepreneurs Conference and the Asian-Pacific Chinese Entrepreneurs Forum.

The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka actively participated at the Investment Forum which was held on 7th June. Three Asian countries including Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar were given an opportunity to make country presentations at the investment forum which was very well attended with over 350 participants. The BOI presentation included the corporate video in Chinese language and a Power Point Presentation.  BOI received a favorable and positive response from the Chinese entrepreneurs who attended at the investment forum.

The Board of Investment, the Export Development Board and Sri Lanka Gems and Jewelry Authority also participated at the Exposition under one main pavilion. A total number of over 125 traders from Sri Lanka also set up their trade stalls at the Exposition. The delegation from Sri Lanka included the senior Ministers namely the Deputy Speaker  Chandima Weerakkody,  Rishard Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Patalee Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Technology Research and Atomic Energy, Dr P B Jayasundara, Secretary of the Treasury, Anura Siriwardena, Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Ranjith Uyangoda, Sri Lanka Ambassador to China and several senior Government officials.

In terms of investment attraction China is currently one of the leading countries in the world. The growth of China’s economy has however made her major generator of FDI, investing overseas more and seeking to expand trading ties with South Asian countries.

The BOI is confident that they can attract more Chinese investment as China has increased her outbound investment in the South Asian Region. The BOI was represented by Jagath de Silva , Senior Deputy Director(Media and Publicity) and Manilal Ranasinghe, Deputy Director , Investment Promotion.(KH/SI)