Harsha speaks at the first CIM CEO Forum 2015

February, 19, 2015

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) recently concluded its first CEO Forum for the year 2015 titled “ Sri Lanka – Vision 15/20, Opportunities & Challenges” at the JAIC Hilton Colombo Residences, with more than 100 Marketers and CEO’s attending. The speaker at this forum was Dr. Harsha de Silva, Hon. Deputy Minister of Policy Planning & Economic Affairs. Prior to that he was the economic affairs spokesperson for the then opposition UNP.01

Harsha started out as the chief economist and treasurer of DFCC Bank and went on to become a successful entrepreneur who co-founded and built what is today the country’s largest market and social research agency; Nielsen Lanka.

Having sold his stake in the company he consulted with the World Bank, ADB, UNDP and many other multilateral agencies for over 10 years and with think tank LIRNEasia in more than 20 countries. He was also visiting faculty at the Universities of Sri Jayawardenepura and Moratuwa for a number of years and has published widely on economics of ICT. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Missouri and has had executive training at MIT. He was also the 2011 Eisenhower Fellow.

In his opening remarks he focused on three pillars in taking the country forward. The Past, Present and the future of Sri Lanka from a Macro perspective. As a minister of the incumbent government he mentioned the positive effects of winning the war which had lasted for over 30 years and left this country sapped in every aspect. This he mainly attributed to the past government’s initiatives, he further added that Sri Lanka has a high literacy rate and human development index.

However he mentioned that winning the war is just one battle there is another war that was neglected or was not confronted with, that is the war on economics. The economic policies have failed in the recent past and it has resulted in inequality of wealth distribution, long term debt issues, exchange rate issues, interest rate issues and a series of multiple issues that this government needs to face in the coming years. Above all what stands out like a beacon in the night is the purchasing powers of the people are low especially amongst the lower income earning segments. He further reiterated that the household income has grown only by 0.5% per annum. This is one of the key issues that the government hopes to fulfill in the coming years ahead apart from sorting out other discrepancies.

He further spoke on issues and certain discrepancies that the government must face. A key point that he shared with us is that we should all think and act from our hearts. Everybody deserves a chance and everybody must benefit from the country’s growth, all must become shareholders not just the high net worth segments only. The current government believes in a Social Market Economy, where we need an economy that is competitive and believes and grants justice and order in the social paradigm. What is reassuring to know is that the current government has a game plan and that is to do with 3 schools of thought. One is to believe in the markets and create efficiency in all these markets whether it is Financial, Economic etc. Then have effective regulations in order and deliver social justice.

He concluded his speech in summarizing the above where he stated that we need to win consumer confidence especially as a government within the 100 day work programme. As a small country it is crucial to focus on exports and the present government is having a very friendly open door foreign policy where it is a win win situation for both sides. He also reiterated, let the markets determine the pricing mechanism, and let the markets work and bring economic benefits to all consumers. The volume and value growth will happen if income levels increase amongst the low income earners as well. The enthusiastic session concluded with a lively Q & A session and building confidence amongst the audience leaving a key phrase for which Sri Lanka is heading towards “A Highly competitive Social Market Economy”

The CIM Sri Lanka organizes many versatile events such as these catering to the key needs of its members and adding value to the membership and also for the business community at large. The sole objective of this forum was to highlight emerging themes in relation to business and to discuss the possible future plans of the government to abet businesses.
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Mr. Brian Selvanayagam the Vice chairman of CIM Sri Lanka thanked Dr. Harsha de Silva for sharing his latest insights with the audience and for accepting the invitation and speaking at this event even though he had a very busy schedule. It is also noteworthy to mention the support received from our Corporate Sponsors “Stafford Motor Company Ltd, Sampath Bank Plc, and event sponsorship by Softlogic International (Pvt) Ltd. A special vote of thanks goes to all the Marketers, CEO’s who accepted the invitation and attended this event to make it a great success.