Colombo: In an attempt to revive the economy, the Sri Lankan government has granted five-year visas to Indian business owners. The island nation is looking to promote investment in the country in order to overcome the ongoing financial crisis.
Sri Lankan Minister Dhammika Perera handed over the visas. The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted the news and wrote: "This is a welcome step in enhancing the ease of business and promoting investments in Sri Lanka."
Indian High Commissioner to Colombo Gopal Baglay met Sri Lanka's Trade Minister on Wednesday and discussed various facets of the trade, reported ANI.
The Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted that the High Commissioner met Minister for Trade Hon'ble Nalin Fernando. "They discussed diverse facets of bilateral trade, such as increasing trade volume, creating platforms to facilitate business linkages between India and Sri Lanka".
Earlier, it was speculated that the economic crisis in Sri Lanka will impact the earnings and profits of Indian companies that have direct operations in the country. Some large companies that have invested and operate in the island nation are Dabur, Asian Paints, Taj Hotels, Indian Oil, Airtel, Ashok Leyland, and Tata Communications.
Sapphire Foods, one of the largest franchisees of Yum! Brands Inc in India said in April that the currency devaluation of the Lankan rupee will have an impact on Indian currency while consolidating accounts at the entity level. The brand has over 400 KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell restaurants across India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
Analysts had predicted that the value of LKR will reflect in and drag down the performance of Indian companies because they report consolidated numbers.
The Sri Lankan government has been struggling with fuel supply and inflation amid the financial crisis. India has sent assistance worth several billion US dollars along with shiploads of humanitarian aid, cooking gas, large quantities of fuel, and medicinal supplies.
The island nation has also received $3 billion in credit, 40,000 metric tons of diesel, 40,000 metric tons of petrol, and 4,00,000 metric tons of cooking gas. India also sent rice, milk powder, and medicines worth Rs 2 billion.