Mr Dhammika Fernando, The Director of Tropical Findings (Pvt) Ltd is also the incumbent President of – Asia Pacific Federation of Human Resource Management and Executive Board Member of the World Federation of People Management Associations-WFPMA. He was elected as the new Chairman of the Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA) as members voted unanimously in favour of him at the 42nd Annual General Meeting held at “The Winchester Ballroom”, Kingsbury Colombo on 31st March 2023.
Managing Director – Dial Textiles Industries Pvt Ltd , Sean Umagiliya was also unanimously elected as the Honorary secretary of the Association and Tyronne Weckasinghe , Managing Director of Flintec Transducers Pvt Ltd as the Deputy Secretary while Fazal Abdeen, Managing Director of ATG Ceylon Pvt Ltd and Nishantha Bakmeege Managing Director, Screenline Holdings PLC as Vice Chairmen.
M.H.Z.M.Marzook, Managing Director of Filotex Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, will remain as the Honorary Treasurer, while Manjula Mahadanaarachchi, CEO of Lalan Rubbers Pvt Ltd would deputize him as deputy Treasurer of the Association.
The Japanese Ambassador H.E. Mr. Mizukoshi Hideaki was the chief guest at the AGM while The Sate Minister of Investment Promotion Mr. Dilum Amunugama and Director General of Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Ms. Renuka Weerakoon were the guests of honour.
FTZMA is the leading Association representing the foreign direct investors in the various 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 in Sri Lanka.
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.
2022 was an incredibly tough year, and while we have shown agility and resilience, we have not emerged from the doldrums unscathed. The magnitude of the conundrum is still to be determined, but we are acutely aware of the difficulties that lie ahead.
Despite the apparent end of the pandemic, exporters are facing another global crisis, 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, unfavourable 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.
We fervently hope that the authorities will realize the seriousness of the situation and take swift action to prevent mass-scale furloughing, job losses, and closures that will ultimately lead to dwindling foreign income.
We are grateful for the services provided by BOI to our members and thankful to all 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, and all other sister trade chambers. Kudos to our friends in the media for giving much-needed exposure to our burning issues and achievements.
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.
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 the present Government would formulate 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.
