AHK Sri Lanka to promote key Lankan industries to draw German investments

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Wasantha Senanayake and Devinda Senanayake officially hand over the Freudenberg book to AHK Sri Lanka Chief Delegate Andreas Hergenrother and German Ambassador Jörn Rohde

By Nishel Fernando 
The recently launched Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka (AHK Sri Lanka) plans to carry out investment promotions for Sri Lanka’s Rubber, IT, apparel and logistics industries in Germany as the German businesses are increasingly becoming interested in Sri Lanka.

AHK Sri Lanka Chief Delegate Andreas Hergenrother yesterday said AHK Sri Lanka has scheduled to hold three business forums in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Berlin aiming to promote German investments to the four focused sectors.

The series of business forums will be held at the end of September this year, Hergenrother told reporters in Colombo. 

Hergenrother noted there has been a growing interest from the German companies in Sri Lanka since the inauguration of AHK Sri Lanka office in Colombo.

 “We receive many requests from German companies seeking business partners to set-up distribution networks and direct investments.” 

Speaking of FDI flows from Germany to Sri Lanka, Hergenrother revealed that several German companies are currently in negotiations with AHK Sri Lanka to finalise their investment plans in Sri Lanka. While drawing attention to recent trends in FDI flows from Germany to Sri Lanka, he emphasised that German companies are not limited to investing in apparel and textiles. 

He pointed out that several German companies have invested in industries such as chemical and construction materials recently. 

Hergenrother said a German business delegation is expected to visit Sri Lanka this September.
“In the month of September, we will have a sourcing delegation from Germany looking for partners in textile, apparel and rubber here to source products from Sri Lanka, which is very interesting in the perspective of export promotion,” he said. 

Meanwhile, AHK Sri Lanka yesterday entered into a partnership with Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO). As per the agreement, DIMO would represent 36 German companies in Sri Lanka including Siemens.

According to Hergenrother, AHK Sri Lanka represents 3.6 million businesses in Germany and aims to offer a platform to create business opportunities for both Sri Lankan and German companies.

“We are supporting both German and Sri Lankan businesses with their intentions to do business with each other and provide a strong platform on equal terms for both sides,” Hergenrother said. 

He highlighted that bilateral trade volumes between the two countries reached a record high last year.
Exports from Sri Lanka to Germany grew by 13 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 654 million euros while imports from Germany increased by 81 percent YoY to 571 million euros, resulting in a bilateral trade volume of 1.25 billion euros. 

The network of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHKs), which consists of bilateral chambers of commerce abroad, delegations and representatives of German business, advises, consults and represents German companies worldwide that wish to develop or expand their business activities abroad. 

The AHKs are institutions of German foreign trade promotion. The Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) continuously coordinates and develops the network of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad. They are co-funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWI). The AHKs are membership organisations with approximately 47,000 membership companies worldwide.

Senanayake family hands over historical Freudenberg book

The Senanayake family represented by the State Minister of Foreign Affairs Wasantha Senanayake and Devinda Senanayake yesterday officially handed over the historical ‘Freudenberg book’ to AHK Sri Lanka Chief delegate, Andreas Hergenrother and to the German Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jörn Rohde at a ceremony held at AHK Sri Lanka office in Colombo.

The book contains the historical German-Sri Lankan business relations which commenced with Phillip Freudenberg, who in 1873 founded Freudenberg & Company, the first German firm in Sri Lanka, and who also in 1876 was appointed as the Counsel of the German Empire in Ceylon to represent German interests. The Freudenberg & Co. (Ceylon) Ltd. was founded by Robert Senanayke, the second son of Sri Lanka’s first Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake, and the younger brother of Dudley Senanayke, the four times Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

The idea to transfer the Freudenberg book, which was in the possession of the Senanayake family to AHK Sri Lanka was conceived following the launch of AHK Sri Lanka in May this year, as a gesture of continuous and fruitful business relations between the two countries.  

Accepting the historical document, AHK Sri Lanka, Chief Delegate Andreas Hergenrother said, “The Freudenberg book is of great symbolic value for Sri Lankan-German business relations. Both countries have been linked with positive economic connections for a long time and Germany is committed to further strengthen them.”