Sri Lanka invites Indian IT firms to set-up shop

Tissa Vitharana, Science and Technology Minister, Sri Lanka invited Indian IT
firms to invest in the island nation for leveraging the IT skills of its
citizens.

“We want to benefit from the Indian IT boom and prevent our talented
engineers from leaving the country for greener pastures in the absence of a
strong technology base,” Vitharana told reporters.

He also said that with about 95 percent literacy, Sri Lanka was quite
resourceful to create a knowledge workforce for software and IT-enabled
services, including BPO and call centers.

“With the free trade agreement (FTA) and historical ties between the two
countries, Sri Lanka need not be treated differently, as the island nation is
part of the Indian ethos and development process over the centuries. We want the
Indian IT industry to make best use of our resources and assist our government
in creating an eco-system for replicating India's success story in the
knowledge sector,” the minister said.

The island nation is also interested in promoting high-tech industries,
especially in nano-technology chip design and semiconductor. “Though our
industrial base is small, it is quite flexible. We offer overseas investors
fiscal incentives such as tax holiday, interest subsidy and freedom to
repatriate profits, besides quality infrastructure, including energy and land,”
Vitharana pointed out.

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