Amid the ruins of Sri Lanka's civil war lie gems of business opportunity for foreigners. But be prepared for a long, hard spell
A group of 43 businessmen from Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital city, were shocked to see the devastation when they landed in Jaffna in early July. Returning after three decades, they remembered this palm-fringed peninsula surrounded by blue lagoons had once been a thriving hub for industry. As many as 750 small factories churned out everything from household articles to export items in the 1970s. Now, they were all gone. What greeted them was broken bridges, burnt homes and families torn by the 26-year-long civil war. Hardly a place to talk business.
When the government and LTTE had observed a truce between 2002 and 2005, a wave of investors reached Sri Lankan shores. With a literacy rate of 97 percent, Sri Lanka attracted BPO companies,especially the ones executing accounting tasks. The country has been trying to move into a services economy too. So, there will be a huge scope for training young people in manufacturing as well as services businesses. That is why human resources firm Ma Foi Management Consultants went there in 2004.
Big Brother Is Coming
India has already started pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into Sri Lanka for the rehabilitation of 280,000 internally displaced persons living in government camps. But more importantly, companies, including public sector units, (PSUs) are queuing up to invest big time.
(This story appears in the 28 August, 2009 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)