The Sri Lanka-Malaysia Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce held its 26th Annual General Meeting in Colombo recently.
The High Commissioner for Malaysia in Sri Lanka, Tan Yang Thai was the chief guest.
Ambassador Yang Thai said that in the past there had been many visitors from Malaysia who were keen to invest in Sri Lanka and there were a number of visits by trade delegations. One of Malaysia’s Leading lubricant oil producers Hyrax Oil opened a blending plant in Sri Lanka last year and SLMBC has established a good link with Malaysian counterparts.
Malaysia, the gateway to ASEANwelcomes greater participation from Sri Lankan businesses and investments that offer huge market opportunities for more than 630m consumers.
Bilateral trade between the two nations have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka remains as an important trade and investment partner in the South Asian region for Malaysia. Malaysia’s total bilateral trade with Sri Lanka was and all time high with USD 929.1M last year with a 19.3 percent growth which is the highest in South Asia. In terms of investment Malaysia remains committed to invest in Sri Lanka.
Keerthi Jayasuriya, Chairman/CEO of International Scholar Educational Services was re-elected as the President of the Council while Khalid Farouk, Director, Ilham Inspiration and Mohamed Hameez of Spillburg Holdings were elected as Vice Presidents. CEO and Managing Director, Aitken Spence Shipping Ltd., Iqram Cuttilan will serve the Committee as the immediate past president. Committee Members of the council for 2020-2021: Amana Bank, Dialog Telekom, Hemas Air Services, Public Bank BERHAD, Mansoor Gems, World Express CMB, Zam Gems were elected.