Business Opportunities in Sri Lanka

Why Invest in IT in Sri Lanka?

1. Increasing resource pool of skilled IT labour force

2. Average annual salary for software professionals in Sri Lanka is approximately 10% of the average US rate

3. Software exports have been growing at a compound annual rate of 45%

4. In 2000, total value of software exports was approximately US$ 58 million - this is the total value of India's software exports 10 years ago

5. Per Capita GDP is presently US$ 900 - the highest in South Asia

6. Literacy rate is 92% - the highest in South Asia and second highest in Asia

7. Advanced infrastructure facilities in Telecommunications, Ports, Airports,Logistics

In Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) country forecasts for Business Environment, Sri Lanka is ranked at #42 globally and #11 regionally, ahead of India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan

Information Communication Infrastructure

Sri Lanka has the most liberalised telecom industry in South Asia:

1. 3 fixed and wireless local loop operators
2. 4 mobile operators
3. 5 public pay phone operators

Growth in Telecommunications

During the last five years, following the privatization of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT):

1. Numbers of fixed phone lines have increased from 200,000 to over 700,000
2. Numbers of mobile phone subscribers have increased from 50,000 to 400,000

Bandwidth Availability

Through Satellite

1. Unlimited supply at regionally competitive prices

2. 150 Mbps at any rate throughout Sri Lanka

3. Main local providers: Electrotecks, Ceycom Global Communications & Lankacom

Software Development

About 50 software development companies are in operation in Sri Lanka.

1. Software exports have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 45%

2. In 2000, the Sri Lanka exported an estimated US$ 58 million worth of software - this is the total value of India's software exports 10 years ago

Sri Lanka's first Software Development Park at the World Trade Centre, Colombo

1. 45,330 Sq.ft. leased with rental subsidies

2. Initial 2Mbps bandwidth connection with guaranteed service levels

3. To be extended to 45 Mbps by end 2001

4. Building equipped Automated Building Management System

5. Four foreign software development companies in operation

Networked Readiness Index

Sri Lanka is ranked 54th out of 82 developed & developing countries in the Networked Readiness Index published in the Global Information Technology Report.

The Report, the collaborative effort of leading academics worldwide, seeks to benchmark & monitor the progress of nations in the different dimensions in the field of ICT.

The Report highlights the Networked Readiness of the three major stakeholders viz. individuals, businesses & governments within a country's economic and political context. The variables used to measure the Networked Readiness Index are grouped into three broad categories, particularly Environment, Networked Readiness & Network usage. Each component index is composed of three sub-indexes with the computation of the final Networked Readiness Index being based on the 64 variables included in the nine sub-indexes.

The final index captures the critical factors relating to the environment, readiness & usage of ICT by the three stakeholders. The rankings-relating to both the component index & sub - index - help in identifying the relative strengths & weaknesses in specific areas of competence. The Index therefore provides a useful measure of benchmarking the progress in Networked Readiness across a wide spectrum of nations worldwide.

Sri Lanka, with a score of 4.66 in the sub-category Government Readiness is ranked 25th - a high rank in comparison to its overall position of 54. This is a firm indication of the top priority & the thrust provided by the government to ICT in Sri Lanka.

Networked Readiness Index of some selected countries:-

Source : Global Information Technology Report 2002/2003

Incentives

For more information Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka http://www.trc.gov.lk/

Useful Industry Links

Council for Information Technology
Sri Lanka Computer Vendors Association (SLCVA)
Sri Lanka Association for the Software Industry (SLASI)

Source: The Board of Investment, Sri Lanka