Business Opportunities in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's Competitive Advantages in the Electronics Sector

• Availability of high quality base raw material for electronic products (extensive mineral deposits).
• Access to a pool of technical and professional human resources at competitive wage rates.
• Attractive incentives with electronics identified as a thrust industry.
• Good infrastructure.
• Special electronics park.
• R & D Facilities.
  Potential Areas for Investment

  The following sub-sectors have been identified for the promotion of foreign direct investment, where Sri Lanka's labour force has proven manual dexterity and a distinct competitive advantage.

  Consumer Electronics	Communication Equipment	Components	Industrial Electronics	Computer and Related Services
  Radio and portable audio equipment Automotive sound systems Audio accessories Colour TVs Satellite Receivers Cellular/Conventional /Telephones Personal computers and software Electronic watches Electronic toys and games Home security systems Energy saving bulbs	Telephones and answering machines Small PABX and key telephones (including rural public telephone exchanges) PCM and Microwave transmission systems and Multiplexes Radio telephones Telecommunications software (for telecom database management and subscriber services, etc.) Telecommunications power supplies Telecom outside plant accessories Telecommunication services	Audio/video system components with high labour component (such as audio/video heads, cassette mechanisms, etc.) Printed circuit boards Cathode ray tubes & LCD displays Passive electronic components Magnetic heads for disk drives Miscellaneous power transformers and switched mode power supply magnetic Quartz and ceramic components Microwave components Automotive electronic components	Power suppliers (both switched mode and Linear types) Power conditioners, AC line regulators, UPS Systems VLSI Packaging and testing RFI and EMI suppressors Industrial controllers testing, measuring and analysing equipment	Hardware Assembly of personal computers Add on boards and accessories Power protection equipment Software and Related Services Development of specialised software packages Data entry services Systems support and systems integration Data processing and operation

  
  Sri Lanka's Electronics Industry

  The government of Sri Lanka has given the highest priority for the development and promotion of the electronics sector, which has also been identified as a thrust industry since 1995 to promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Under the thrust industry scheme, companies investing in the electronics industry are offered a package of attractive incentives and concessions.

  Growth in Electronic Projects Commencing Commercial Operation 1983-2000 (Approved under Sec.17)
  Year	No of Proj.	Total Estimated Investment (Cumulative) Rs.Mn.	Employment at Capacity (Cumulative Nos.)
  1983	1	18.70	384
  1984	2	43.49	463
  1989	4	147.62	1090
  1991	5	836.31	2195
  1992	6	1,031.31	2459
  1993	9	1,180.72	3146
  1995	13	2,134.90	4753
  1996	15	2,370.10	6991
  1997	18	2,997.70	7999
  1998	20	3,166.90	8714
  1999	23	3,496.90	8972
  2000	24	3,623.60	9029

  Products Manufactured Or Assembled In Sri Lanka

  Audio/Video Equipment & Consumer Electronics.
  Electric Appliances.
  Magnetic Heads (Audio, Video & Disk Drive Types).
  High Frequency Magnetic (Ferrite and Toroidal Transformers).
  Telecom and Datacom Systems.
  Energy Saving Lamps.
  Electrical Safety Systems.
  Switch Mode Power Supplies and Other Power Electronic Products.
  Printed Circuit Boards.

  Manpower - University Education and Training Facilities

  There are seven universities in Sri Lanka producing graduates in the fields of electronics, engineering and computer studies. In addition there are four institutes providing training in electronics.
  

  Competitive Wage Rates

  Raw Material Availability

  Sri Lanka has extensive deposits of high quality minerals such as kaolin/feldspar, silica sand, quartz and ilmenite, which could be used as a base material for electronic products.

  Raw Material	Areas of Deposit	Estimated Resources
  China clay/kaolin	Low lying areas of Colombo and the South Western Region	Over 1 million tons
  Ball clay	South Western part of the Island	Over 500,000 tons
  Feldspar	Central Highlands	Over 3 million tons
  Silica sand	Coastal regions	6 million tons (over 50% of the sands in its raw form could be utilised)
  Quartz	Western Highlands	500,000 tons (98.8% silica content)
  Dolomite (crystalline limestone)	Central Highlands and surrounding regions	200,000 tons
  Hydrated Lime (Source-BI value shells)	Coastal Regions in the South Eastern Part of the country	Over a million tons (contains 98% calcium carbonate)
  Graphite	South Western
  Heavy mineral sands such as ilmenite	Western Province Eastern Province	Over a million tons

  Incentives