The 20^th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka – Singapore Business Council (SLSBC) of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce was held recently at The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. The SLSBC was inaugurated in 1997 under the aegis of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce with the objective of promoting trade, investments, tourism and services between Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Mr. Shamil Mendis, Chairman & Managing Director, Spear International (Pvt) Ltd. was re-elected as the President of the Council for the year 2017-2018.  In his address Mr. Mendis mentioned that 2016-2017 has been an eventful year and outlined some of the significant activities the council had undertaken during this period.

The Sri Lanka – Singapore Business Council organized the “Sri Lanka Singapore Business Forum” on 1^st June 2016, to coincide with the visit to Sri Lanka of Hon. S. Iswaran, Minister of Trade and Industry, Singapore together with a high powered business delegation. Hon. Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade graced the occasion on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka. Mr. Mendis stated that FDI inflow is crucial in the present context and the establishment of new partnerships and confidence building is a prerequisite. As such, the Business Forum provided a platform for establishing new business links with Singapore companies and for providing an insight into the investment climate in Sri Lanka.

The Business Delegation accompanying the Singapore Minister comprised representatives from various sectors such as Export-led Manufacturing/Food processing/sourcing/services/information Technology/BPO/Hospitality and Tourism/Education/Logistics/Oil & Gas and Chemicals/Agri-commodities Trading/Infrastructure solutions etc. The Business Forum was followed by B2B meetings and a networking lunch with the delegation.

The Sri Lanka - Singapore Business Council (SLSBC) successfully concluded a business mission to Singapore in November 2016. The mission was organized to coincide with the seminar on Doing Business in Sri Lanka followed by business meetings which was organized by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and supported by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the government agency that promotes international trade and partners Singapore companies to go global. The delegation also participated in business meetings with companies arranged by the Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SMCCI) and the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) which provided them an opportunity to network with their respective member companies and senior officials of the two Chambers. The eighteen member delegation engaged in an extremely productive visit to Singapore.

The year ended with a joint Networking Evening organized by the Sri Lanka – Singapore Business Council (SLSBC) of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore (Sri Lanka) Club.  The event provided an opportunity for members to interact between themselves, with the Singapore expatriate community in Sri Lanka and senior officials of key Government Institutions relevant to business.

Mr. Rohitha Mendis, Managing Director, Prudential Shipping Lines (Pvt) Ltd, Mr. Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Managing Director, Blue Ocean Ventures (Pvt) Ltd, and Mr. Upali Bandaranayake, Director, Valdhue and Walker (Pvt) Ltd were elected as Vice Presidents of the Council.

A Baur & Co. Ltd, Aitken Spence Cargo (Pvt) Ltd., Just in Time Holdings (Pvt) Ltd., MAC Holdings (Pvt) Ltd., Ovearseas Realty (Ceylon) PLC and Prima Ceylon Ltd. were elected from the membership to serve on the Executive Committee of the Council.

Further details regarding membership of the Council could be obtained from the Secretariat of the Sri Lanka – Singapore Business Council of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, No. 50, Navam Mawatha, Colombo 2. E-mail: rasangika@chamber.lk or Tel.: 011-5588892, 5588800.