South Asian Business news and information

John Keells, Sri Lanka’s largest hotel chain operator, is planning to invest $100 million in building resorts in Goa and Kerala. I am quoting from the news published in business-standard.com:

 ‘John Keells, which runs nine hotels in Sri Lanka and five in the Maldives,  hopes to develop three properties in India, the group's deputy chairman, Ajit Gunewardena said.

"Unlike the Maldives, at the moment, Sri Lanka doesn't look too good for   us, because of the security situation," he said.

Gunawardena says the Indian investment is part of the group's strategy to foray into South Asian markets. "South Asia has growth opportunities and we want to extend our hotel footprint into the region".’

In August, Aitken Spence, another major Sri Lankan resort operator, announced its hotel plans in Kerala with its Indian partner Floatels India.

Sri Lanka is known as the “Pearl of Indian Ocean.” The country’s beautiful coast lines, forests, hills and historical sites and hospitable community make it an ideal place for tourists. Every year, hundreds of tourists come to this island to enjoy the natural beauty. However, the war between Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan army has turned this beautiful “Pearl” in to “Pain of Indian Ocean.” The ongoing clash between the tigers and the military has resulted into a slump in the number of tourists.

Few days ago, the Maoist rebels and Nepal government signed a peace deal and ended a war that claimed lives of 13,000 people. Same thing is happening in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka may be a small country but it has the highest literacy rate (more than 90%) among all the South Asian countries. Had this war did not happen Sri Lanka would have become a very developed country in this region. The war between Tamil and Sri Lankan army is causing nothing but death and destruction. I hope that the government finds some way to make peace with LTTE and peace returns to Sri Lanka.    

Related article:

Business-standard.com