The latest report from the World Economic Forum states that Sri Lanka has shot up by 17 places in the Global Competitiveness Rankings and is placed at No. 62 as against the last ranking of 79.
Marketing Professional Rohantha Athukorala addressing the Rotaract Club of Colombo Downtown at Waters Edge commented that the most problematic factors for doing business in Sri Lanka that have been highlighted in the report were tax regulations and tax rates.
"The good news is that a commission was set up almost six months back and their recommendations will come into effect very soon in Sri Lanka, which means that Sri Lanka is already poised to be within the top 50 countries of the world and now we need to market this to attract the large conglomerates to invest in Sri Lanka," he said.
Noting that Sri Lanka had seen many accolades post the eradication of terrorism in the country such as National Geography Channel ranking it a top tourist destination and The Times of New York categorising it as a top 10 growth economy in the world, he said the recent highlight of the country's competitiveness which has jumped 17 places to 62 from the earlier ranking of 79 was the biggest win that Sri Lanka could highlight as the top world body of the World Economic Forum does this ranking globally amongst 139 countries.
Athukorala emphasised that the time was right to launch a nation branding exercise globally which does not need fat advertising budgets but an integrated communication strategy.
"A country that has done this well and has reaped the benefits is Turkey, in the German market. We must attract big names likes Shangri-La, Samsung, Four Seasons, Mahendra, Tata and the Wal-Mart into Sri Lanka within the next year and organisations like Rotaract and Rotary must take this message globally," he said.
The speaker went on to say that Sri Lanka must now focus on the next four criteria that make doing business difficult in Sri Lanka: 'Access to finance', 'Corruption', 'In-efficiency of the bureaucracy' and 'restrictive labour practices'.
In his view the recently passed 18th Amendment will bring in a new era of governance in the country and will help address some of the above issues, but the private sector must support the Government strongly, especially organisations like Rotary and Rotaract which consist of the cream of business professionals in Sri Lanka.
source - www.dailymirror.lk
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