Indian firms looking to expand abroad have good chance in Sri Lanka: ITC chief

Indian companies looking to expand abroad have a good chance in Sri Lanka due to the island nation's proximity, ITC Group Chief Executive Sanjiv Puri said.

"I can tell you that Indian companies are particularly coming to Sri Lanka because there are a lot of cultural and historical ties. We understand each other better. When you are going to a new place, the culture becomes very important," Economy Next quoted Puri as saying here on Saturday.

Over the past 10 years, India has rapidly opened up under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Puri, who is heading a delegation of CEOs from the Confederation of Indian Industry visiting Sri Lanka.

"India is in the process of, and has signed, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Many more FTAs are coming," he said.

Puri, the immediate past President of the CII, when asked why Indian companies were looking to invest in Sri Lanka if India was growing so fast, said: "They have become competitive, have access to technology, and have their strengths."

He said manufacturing of electronics and semiconductors was reviving at a very rapid pace in India.

"And now the aspirations are also larger in the Indian enterprises to go beyond geography. And it's a natural process."

"Some companies will choose to go to proximal countries. Some companies will choose to go elsewhere. Some companies will go far off," he said.

In addition to ITC, which has built a hotel in Sri Lanka, CEAT makes tyres, Piramal owns a glass bottle making company, and Adani has invested in a container terminal with John Keells Holdings.

Last month, Indian shipbuilding firm Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) bought Colombo Dockyard PLC and expected to take control by injecting cash into the troubled firm.