The Director of Tropical Findings (Pvt) Ltd, Immediate President- Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management | Executive Board Member at World Federation of People Management Associations-WFPMA Dhammika Fernando was re-elected as the new Chairman of the Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA) at the 43rd Annual General Meeting held at “Courtyard by Marriott Colombo” on 28th March 2024.
Managing Director – Flintec Transducers Pvt Ltd, Tyronne Weckasinghe was elected as the Honorary secretary of the Association, Manjula Mahadanaarachchi, Chief Executive Officer of Lalan Rubber Pvt Ltd was elected as the Honorary Treasurerwhile Fazal Abdeen Managing Director of ATG Ceylon Pvt Ltd and Nishantha Bakmeege Managing Director, Screenline Holdings PLC as Vice Chairmen. The rest of the Executive committee was elected through a distinguished gathering of C-suite executives of all BOI member enterprises island wide.
The High Commissioner of Malaysia to Sri Lanka H.E. Badli Hisham Adamwas the chief guest at the AGM while The Director General of Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Mrs. Renuka Weerakoon was the guest of honour.
FTZMA is the leading Association representing the foreign direct investors of all the export processing zones in Sri Lanka. Since it commenced its operation from Katunayake Free Trade Zone over 40 years ago, the Association has been representing the foreign direct investments, expanding their presence to all Free Trade Zones and outside the BOI zones in Sri Lanka. The uniqueness of FTZMA is that it represents all trades including the apparel industry.
In his statement after becoming the elected Chairman, Dhammika Fernando mentioned that”by no means we shall underestimate the current predicament of exporters. So far there had not been safe sailing for businesses, meaning that we are not totally out of the doldrums and not at all the business-as-usual environment set in.
2023 was an incredibly tough year, we have experienced quite a number of challenges faced by our members & BOI companies due to recessivetrends globally, compounded by the crippling local financial crisis. The looming economic slowdown in Europe and the USA, our major export destinations, poses a severe threat to our exports. In addition, the increase in corporate and personal taxes, unfavorable forex rates, and the abnormal increase in the cost of commodities, particularly energy, have caused our production costs to skyrocket, eroding our global competitiveness.
As a result, our export figures have taken a hit, and many major industrial exporters are downsizing, shutting down operations, or relocating. The SME sector has been particularly hard-hit, with the withdrawal of loan moratoriums and the contraction of large-scale enterprises having a cascading effect.
Association always ensured that all BOI enterprises were maintaining a sustainable business and be resilient especially during the economic crisis by minimizing their exposure to risks and find new ways in which they can maintain the sustainability of their business. The crisis which prevailed in the 1st half of the year had challenged many organizations however we were able to find solutions ensuring that continuous operation of the companies by taking collective decision with officials of the BOI and all other stake holders.
Our relationship with BOI over the past years influenced to overcome new challenges and leverage complementary assets to address Investors’ problems. As a result, FTZMA has become a member of Industry Advisory Council of BOI.
Besides with BOI, we maintain cordial relationship with other statutory bodies such as Customs, Central Bank, Ports authority, Airport and non-State sector organizations as well. We are grateful for the services provided by BOI to our members and also other government agencies and ministries, including the Ministry of Labour, EDB, Customs, Ports and Airport authorities, and the apparel apex body JAAF, for their invaluable support. We also value the cooperation of EFC, CCC, NCC, NGJA, SLSC and all other sister trade chambers & our affiliated associations.
I would like to express my gratitude to the member enterprises, who are the strength of our association, for their steadfast support, and to the Executive Committee colleagues and our dynamic Chairman for their unwavering dedication. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the contributions of our secretariat staff for their exceptional efforts in supporting the increase of membership and the smooth functioning of our office.
It goes without saying that we are beyond words with gratitude for the generous sponsorship made by our Platinum Sponsors Codgen International Pvt Ltd, National Development Bank and our member investor Trinity Steel Pvt Ltd together with our Silver Sponsors Manferd Engineering, George Steuart Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd and Bronze Sponsors, Commercial Bank PLC and Nation Trust Bank for their magnanimous contribution that has made a tremendous impact on our cause and we would like to express our sincere appreciation for their commitment & dedication.
He further said that “FTZMA strongly believe that our country will be able recover from the current difficult economic situation faced by our members and if the Government would formulate investor friendly policies and take action in the right direction to foster the socio-economic progress of Sri Lanka and will bring back confidence of all investors,” and the Association ensures that continuous and smooth operation of the activities and most importantly sustain the industry by satisfying the Investor. Issues brought up by members are being dealt with efficiently by creating a conducive environment with officials of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and all stake holders.