Leisure sector to take-off
Local companies now need to be equipped with that capacity for larger investments now that the war is over, a director said.
John Keells Holding Plc (JKH) Deputy Chairman Ajit Gunewardene speaking at a C.E.O. forum on Tuesday said that in the past we may have had been happy investing in a hotel once in five years, but now we may have to be prepared to invest in eight hotels at once as it were, he said.
Gunewardene said that the end of the 30 year old conflict has brought a paradigm shift in the way business is being done. The near US$ one billion inflow to the Government bond market recently is proof of that, he said.
The days of exchange and interest rates volatility are now over, Gunewardene said.
The thinking should now be focused on integrated real estate development, encompassing hotels, townships, et al, and not on standalone entities, he said.
Gunewardene said that the war end has not only brought about the need for huge amounts of capital for investment, but also the need to find people with the required skills set such as accountants as well as people with other skills sets, needed to exploit the new opportunities for investment that has been made available. That’s where human resource development comes into the fore, he said.
Gunewarene believed that the property market would take-off in another two years time.
“The question is whether local companies are ready to compete with the multinationals who would now be eyeing the country as an investment destination, particularly in the leisure sector,†he said.
(Source – The Sunday Leader, Aug 30, 2009)