Category Archives: News

13 th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council

The 13th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held recently, at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo.

The event was graced by Her Excellency Daw Marlar Than Htaik, Ambassador of Myanmar; Her Excellency Trinh ThiTam, Ambassador of Vietnam; and Ms. Prangtip Kongrittisuksakon, Counselor of Thailand. And the guest speaker was Mr. Mangala Wijesinghe, Chairman of the Export Development Board (EDB).

Mr. Nimal Ratnayake, Chief Marketing Officer of Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC, was elected as the President for the year 2024-2025 by the Members. Mr. Tilak Goonawardane, Director/ Chief Financial Officer, MAC Holdings (Pvt) Ltd and Mr. Shameel Mohideen, Chief Executive Officer, Spillburg Holdings (Pvt) Ltd were elected as Vice Presidents. Member companies, Advantis Projects and Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, ASL Logistics CMB Pvt Ltd, Advantis Freight Pvt Ltd, OpenArc Systems Management Pvt Ltd, and Siam City Cement (Lanka) Ltd were elected to the committee. Mr. S.M.D. Suriyakumara of Maliban Bioventures Ltd, Mr. Ranil Seneviratne of Ranfer Teas (Pvt) Ltd, and Mr. Mahen Weerasekera of Capital Developers Ltd were appointed as Honorary Members to the committee.

The SLGMBC is dedicated to strengthening trade, investment, and tourism relationships between Sri Lanka and Greater Mekong nations, including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. The Council maintains strong diplomatic ties with Greater Mekong missions in Sri Lanka.

MOU with the Global Federation of Business Councils – 3 rd October 2023

The Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council signed an MOU with the Global Federation of Business Councils on the 3 rd of October 2023.

12 th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council

The 12 th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council was held at the Hilton Colombo Residences on 17 th October 2023.

The event was graced by His Excellency Han Thu Ambassador of Myanmar, Mr. Tran Trong Thanh, Counsellor & Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Vietnam, and Mr. K. J Weerasinghe, Chief Negotiator of the International Trade Office. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Thanh encouraged Sri Lankan companies to take advantage of the growing opportunities in Vietnam in sectors such as trade, investment, and tourism, to expand their businesses and develop bilateral trade and relations. He highlighted that being tropical countries with similar biological systems and agricultural products, Vietnam is keen to engage in knowledge exchange with Sri Lanka, particularly focusing on modern farming techniques and food processing. Mr. K. J. Weerasinghe, Chief Negotiator of the International Trade Office, provided in-depth insights on the Thailand Sri Lanka FTA followed by an interactive Q&A session that centered around the Government's emphasis on international trade agreements in line with its vision for economic growth. The discussion also delved into strategies for market and product diversification. Additionally, Mr. Weerasinghe offered a brief update on the current status of negotiations with various countries, such as Thailand, Singapore, China, and India. An overview of the Tariff Liberalization Program was also presented as an integral component of these trade agreements.

Mr. S.M.D. Suriyakumara, Chief Executive Officer of Maliban Biscuit Manufactories (Pvt) Ltd, was re-elected as the President for the year 2023-2024 by the Members. In his address, he acknowledged the strong bond between Sri Lanka and Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar, characterized by close political and trade relations, and committed to pursuing opportunities for trade and investment with Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, with renewed vigour.

Meeting with The Government Delegation from Thailand Attending The FTA Negotiation Discussion held on 27th June 2023

The Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council had a meeting with the Thai GovernmentDelegation representing the Department of Trade Negotiations of Thailand together with the members of the Thai-Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce (TSLCC) on the 27 th of June 2023. The invitees were H.E. Poj Harnpol, Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka, Mrs. Aumaporn Futrakul Executive Director of Bureau of Asia, Africa and Middle East Department of Trade Negotiations Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, Mr. Tasorn Piyakesin, Trade officer Department of Trade Negotiations, Ms. Napasakorn Suwanraksa, Trade officer Department of Trade Negotiations, Mr. Sanjeewa Wickramasuriya, President of the Sri Lankan Association Thailand (SLAT), and Mrs. Ruvini Fernando, Director -PPP Advisory and Deals Strategy of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mrs. Aumaporn Futrakul, the Executive Director of the Bureau of Asia, Africa, and Middle East Department of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, addressed the gathering on Thailand's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) strategy.

Further, a presentation was conducted by Mrs. Ruvini Fernando, Director -PPP Advisory and Deals Strategy of PricewaterhouseCoopers on the opportunities for business collaborations between Sri Lanka and Thailand. Mr. Shiran Fernando, the Chief Economist of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, delivered a presentation on the reform agenda and its implications for trade.

Over fifty participants attended the meeting and the participants were given the opportunity to raise questions from the Thai government representatives. The meeting was organised to provide the Sri Lankan business community based in Thailand with updated information on conducting business in Sri Lanka and the investment opportunities available for establishing joint ventures in the country. Moreover, it aimed to offer an overview of the business collaboration opportunities between Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Meeting with the Ambassador of Thailand held on 13th June 2023

A meeting was organised by the Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong business council to facilitate discussions on trade-related activities and effectively address ongoing concerns in order to promote the continuous development of trade, investment, and tourism between Thailand and Sri Lanka. H.E. Poj Harnpol, the Ambassador of Thailand, addressed the gathering and emphasized the significance of identifying the potential product and service sectors that should be fostered in each market.

During the meeting, the participants had the opportunity to engage in one-on-one discussions with the Ambassador, allowing them to address specific challenges and concerns faced by their respective companies. Over thirty participants attended this meeting.

Meeting with the Commercial Counsellor of Vietnam held on 29th May 2023

The meeting was organised to facilitate discussions on trade-related activities and effectively address ongoing concerns in order to promote the continuous development of trade, investment, and tourism between Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

Mr. Tran Trong Thanh, the Commercial Counsellor of Vietnam, addressed the gathering and delivered a presentation outlining the potential product and service sectors that should be promoted in each market.

The participants had the opportunity to raise questions from the Ambassador, allowing them to address specific concerns faced by their respective companies.

Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Promotes Sri Lanka Thailand Bilateral Trade

A business networking event organised recently by Sri Lanka – Greater Mekong Business Council (SLGMBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce facilitated opportunities to enhance bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Attended by His Excellency Poj Harnpol, Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka, the networking event explored opportunities for increasing the volume of Sri Lankan exports to Thailand, as well as developing trade, tourism and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Highlighting the long-standing cultural and economic ties between the two countries, Ambassador Harnpol welcomed enhanced for prospects for enhancing trade between the two countries. While continuing to focus on traditional import and export products such as precious stones, rubber, plastic, garments, agricultural produce, etc., H E stated that Thailand is in the process of designing itself as a medical and wellness hub, as well as promoting the concept of ‘workcation’, where expatriates could base themselves in Thailand while working remotely for any part of the world.

President of the SLGMBC Mr. S. M. D. Suriyakumara expressed Sri Lanka’s enthusiasm to develop trade, tourism and investment, and the opportunity to balance Thailand’s trade surplus with Sri Lanka, while also paying tribute to the strong historic cultural ties Sri Lanka and Thailand enjoyed. Ms. Anoma Premathilaka – Director, Market Development of the Export Development Board drew attention to market potential analyses carried out by the EDB which indicated strong potential for exports such as precious stones, black tea, wheat flour, etc. and expressed optimism that existing trade frameworks between the two countries would enable opportunities in fields such as education as well.