Positive prospects abound for Qatar and Sri Lanka to strengthen bilateral relationships and to explore investment opportunities in sectors such as tourism, Doha Bank CEO Dr R Seetharaman has said.
Speaking at a forum after the recent opening of Doha Bank’s representative office in Sri Lanka, Seetharaman said bilateral relationships can be explored in the fruits and vegetables, spices, cereals, rice, boat building, fabrics, construction services, garments, and IT segments.
He said Sri Lanka could support Qatar in the food sector, citing LuLu Group, which has already started resourcing a number of food products from the Asian country for its hypermarkets in Qatar.
He noted that Qatari corporates can also explore opportunities in Sri Lanka‘s infrastructure and energy sector. As for the tourism sector, there were 1,700 Qataris who visited Sri Lanka in 2016, reflecting more “potential opportunities,” Seetharaman said.
“Qatar and Sri Lanka can build on surging bilateral partnerships toward synergistic opportunities…manufacturing, infrastructure, marine, and energy, are the other key sectors in the Sri Lankan economy,” he said.
Seetharaman also cited growth in the diplomatic relationship between Qatar and Sri Lanka in last three years. He said Sri Lanka has enjoyed close ties with Qatar, with over 140,000 Sri Lankans working in Qatar, and 210 Sri Lankan companies established in partnership with the Qatari side.
Sri Lanka’s imports from Qatar have primarily been polymers of ethylene, while exports to Qatar were bananas followed by food preparations, tea, and vegetables. Sri Lankan companies are looking to take part in Qatari projects and establish joint ventures in various sectors, Seetharaman said.
On Qatar and Sri Lanka’s economies, Seetharaman said Qatar’s GDP is set to grow 2.6% this year, adding that Qatar’s lending growth is close to 3% in Q1 2018. The country’s foreign exchange reserves with the Qatar Central Bank remained broadly stable at around $38bn in February 2018, equating to six months of import cover, he said.
“Qatar has brought various reforms since the economic blockade and is transforming into a self-reliant economy,” he said.
Seetharaman said the Sri Lankan economy is expected to grow by 4% in 2018. The country unveiled Vision 2025, which aims to position it as an export hub in the Indian Ocean.
“As per Vision 2025, concrete steps will be taken to move from exporting mainly low-technology products to high-tech products and attracting transformational, knowledge-based investments,” he said.
On the global economy, Seetharaman said global growth is expected to be at 3.9% in 2018, and advanced economies are projected to grow at 2.5% in 2018. Growth in emerging market and developing economies is expected to increase to 4.9% this year.
“The surge in oil prices, rise in US bond yields, strengthening of the US dollar, and trade divergence talks are some of the key developments impacting global economies,” Seetharaman said.
The opening of Doha Bank’s Sri Lank representative office was held in the presence of Sri Lankan ambassador ASP Liyanage and counsellor Abdulla al-Sheraim, while the forum titled ‘Qatar-Sri Lanka Bilateral Opportunities’ was participated by Liyanage; Sri Lankan Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera, and Sri Lanka’s Central Bank governor Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy.
Business / Eco./Bus. News
More opportunities for Qatar, Sri Lanka in investments, says Doha Bank CEO
Dr Seetharaman and other dignitaries during the opening of Doha Bank’s representative office in Sri Lanka.
