|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Friday, 31 October 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Business | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Lankan exporters to have permanent window in France by Ravi Ladduwahetty Sri Lankan exporters will gain a major opportunity to showcase their products in the French market with the opening of the 'La Maison de Ceylan' in January 2004 in Lyon, France with state of the art facilities such as conference facilities, meetings rooms, private offices with all facilities for Sri Lankan companies to meet their potential buyers. The products poised to benefit from this project will be apparel, tea, rubber, gems and jewellery, wood and wood based products Information Technology among a host of others. Thierry Gauthier, Managing Director of ATP, a company that specialises in objects of promotion and publicity and the manager of this project, was in Sri Lanka last week to meet prospective Sri Lankan companies from diverse sectors, including tea, rubber, tourism, furniture, wooden items (educative toys) IT, gems, garments, logistics and porcelain/ceramicware. The selected companies will be ale to display their products permanently in an area that also includes La Maison de Ceylan will not be merely a showroom; they will actively seek buyers for the displayed products and assist European buyers in conducting business in Sri Lanka. La Maison de Ceylan is backed by the CGPME (Confederation of Small and medium Sized Companies - Rhone and Rhone-Alpes, France) and the Franco-Sri Lankan Business Council (FSLBC). The project is also supported in Sri Lanka by the French Embassy/French Trade Commission and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Gauthier told the Daily News in an interview at the Galadari Hotel yesterday that this was indeed a major breakthrough for Sri Lankan exporters as this will serve as a permanent showcase for Lankan export products in the second biggest city of France which is in the heart of the French industrial hub. This will also enable Sri Lankan companies to export their finished products which will serve as the raw material for French industrialists which includes rubber and coconut based products. He said that there was also scope French companies to subcontract their production to Sri Lankan companies. Gauthier has met the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Deputy Chairmen Deva Rodrigo and Mahen Dayananda ( who is also the Chairman of the Colombo Tea Traders Association) who have both assured him of circulation of this facility among all the CCC members. Gauthier has also met Sri Lanka Export Development Board Deputy Director of the Product Management Division Indira Malwatte. The mission has also the blessings of the French Trade Commission in Colombo. President of the Franco Sri Lanka Business Council Tima Lazarus said that this showroom will firmly put Sri Lankan companies/products on the map in Europe. This will permit potential buyers to source their products from Sri Lanka and eventually use the country as a base to enter the Indian sub-continent. Secretary General of the Franco Sri Lanka Business Council Jagath De Alwis, a former Board of Investment official who was instrumental in drafting the Indo Lanka Free Trade Agreement said that there was tremendous interest among French investors who were in the small and Medium Scale Industrial sector who were very keen in developing Sri Lanka's SME sector through investments here with buy-back guarantees. Gauthier, whose private company was importing ceramics and porcelain products from China to the value of around US$ 5 million annually said that he would soon shift his base to Sri Lanka due to the advanced quality and shorter transit times. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
