Business News from Sri Lanka: Over 144 German brands represented in the 6th edition of ‘Top German Brands Sri Lanka’ event, in the presence of Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama, German Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Jörn Rohde and Chief Delegate of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka, Andreas Hergenröther.
The event was organized by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka (AHK Sri Lanka) with the support of the German embassy at the Hilton Colombo Residences on September 18.
The Chief Guest at the event, Minister Malik Samarawickrama underlined the positive impact of the strong and long-standing German-Sri Lankan business relations have helped to increase the Sri Lankan exports to Germany by 9% during the 1st half of the year 2019. The keynote speech was delivered by Sameer Goel, Managing Director and Head of Asia Macro Strategy of Deutsche Bank analyzing current economic and financial developments in Sri Lanka and the region.
Hergenröther, Chief Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka, in his speech pointed out that “as the logistic hub in South Asia and future trade hub, Sri Lanka will offer in the near future more business opportunities than ever. Hence raising public awareness of German brands as strategic partners of Sri Lankan businesses is a key objective of our institution. We are overwhelmed by the support and engagement that we got by the German companies and by their Sri Lankan partners to organize this event.”
During the event the participating top German brands that had had the opportunity to showcase their striking innovations in a promotional film series. A jury of representatives of Rupavahini TV, German Embassy and AHK Sri Lanka selected ten companies. The best-awarded video was from Germany’s world market leader in industrial gases Linde, followed by AUDI and DHL.
Germany, which is regarded as a world champion in industry and trade, is becoming an increasingly important business partner for Sri Lanka. While Sri Lankan exports to Germany increased by 9 % during the first half of the year 2019, German exports to Sri Lanka rose by 4 %, during the last two months even by 9,2%. In the frame of a recently conducted business survey by AHK Sri Lanka, 62,5% of the companies declared to have achieved their business targets in 2018.
Regarding the outlook for the Sri Lankan economy, 50 % stated that the economy will stay unchanged or improve. Regarding their respective industries, German companies in Sri Lanka evaluated the outlook more positively. About 75% stated that their industry will stay unchanged or improve, about 44 % think prospects for their industry will improve.
The Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka is part of the German Chamber Network abroad of more than 140 offices around the world. Supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and coordinated by DIHK the German Chambers abroad, the Delegations of German Industry and Commerce represent the interests of German businesses in their partner countries. They provide competent services and offer a platform to create business opportunities for both Sri Lankan and German companies in both directions.
