The top-level 22-member Pakistani trade delegation consisting of representatives from all the major sectors are scouting for investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Jan Textile Mills CEO Tariq Jan Allawala told the Daily FT that he was very keen on investigating the potential for an apparel manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka, due to its unique EU GSP plus status. “I heard that discussions are underway to reduce the value addition criteria for apparel under the EU ESP plus scheme to 35%. This will be a huge incentive for many Pakistani companies to setup factories in Sri Lanka,” he added. According to Mr. Allawala the high productivity of Sri Lanka’s labour force, which exceeds 65% as opposed to Pakistan’s average which is below 50% was also another key incentive. Satellite communications arealso a significant area of focus. ISA Ltd. CEO Sami Bajwa, whose company operates Pakistan’s largest satellite communications network Comstar, stressed that there was a huge potential to role out satellite technologies in Sri Lanka. According to Mr. Sami broadband links with data rates of up to 4 mega bits per second can be rolled out within weeks. The extremely short rollout period is attributed to the ability to share the base stations that already exist in Pakistan. The bandwidth can also be provided for a much lesser cost, of about US$ 3,000 to a much larger geographical region. According to Mr. Sami satellite communications are a more prudent option for getting broadband connectivity than waiting for several years for a WiMax role out. This may also prove crucial to boosting Sri Lanka’s telecommunications architecture in order to become competitive in the global business process outsourcing and offshoring markets. Mr. Karim Isbahani, a key player in the Pakistani shipping sector, stressed that increasing amounts of transhipment cargo from Pakistan is now going through the Colombo port, with the implementation of the CSI and Megaport initiatives. He also stressed that Colombo has the potential to succeed Singapore as the key port ,specially for the South Asian region. Pakistan’s GDP Per Capita (adjusted for purchasing power parity) rose to US$2,400 in 2005, while its GDP shot up to US$ 385.2 billion fuelled by an unprecedented growth rate of 8.4%. Export revenues also increased to US$ 14.8 billion, while imports amounted to US$ 21.2billion. Foreign direct investments also amounted to US$ 1.5 billion for 2005. (PW)

The top-level 22-member Pakistani trade delegation is due to meet with the Trade, Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Marketing Development Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and the Enterprise Development and Investment Promotions Minister Rohitha Bogollagama. They are also expected to visit the Wayamba industrial park tomorrow to meet with local industrialists and conduct a presentation on investment opportunities in Pakistan.However, this top-level delegation is yet to secure an appointment to meet with President Mahinda Rajapakse. The delegations visit is aptly timed to precede the Sri Lankan President’s state visit to Pakistan scheduled for the 1st week of April.