-By Lanka-e-News Hanoi bureaux
(Lanka-e-News -05.May.2025, 11.10 PM) In a diplomatic move underscoring Sri Lanka’s pivot towards Southeast Asia as a cornerstone of its foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (May 4) held high-level discussions with the senior leadership of Vingroup JSC, Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate, urging the company to explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s real estate and tourism sectors.
The meeting, held at Vingroup’s headquarters in Hanoi during President Dissanayake’s official state visit to Vietnam, marked a significant attempt by the Sri Lankan head of state to deepen bilateral economic ties with one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies and position Sri Lanka as a viable investment destination in the post-crisis era.
Founded in Ukraine in 1993 under the name Technocom Corporation, Vingroup has since rebranded and grown into a diversified Vietnamese powerhouse, operating across real estate, retail, healthcare, education, automobiles (notably under the VinFast brand), and technology. It has played a defining role in Vietnam’s economic modernisation and domestic industrialisation efforts.
President Dissanayake, addressing the Vingroup board and Group CEO Nguyen Viet Quang, extended his congratulations on the company’s meteoric rise and its successful transition from a food production firm to a diversified multinational conglomerate. He emphasised that Sri Lanka is “ready and willing” to offer a flexible, investor-friendly environment tailored to foreign enterprises with long-term commitments to sustainable development.
The overture to Vingroup forms part of a broader Sri Lankan campaign to attract foreign capital into high-potential sectors as the island nation continues to recover from an acute debt crisis that prompted a historic sovereign default in 2022. While the country has since secured an International Monetary Fund bailout package, structural reforms and foreign investment are seen as critical to long-term recovery.
President Dissanayake articulated this vision clearly, framing Sri Lanka’s unique geostrategic location along vital Indian Ocean maritime routes as a comparative advantage for investors. He highlighted the government's priority sectors — real estate and tourism — as “low-hanging fruits” for investors seeking first-mover advantages in underexploited South Asian markets.
“We are not merely seeking capital; we are offering partnership,” the President was quoted as saying, according to officials present at the meeting. “Sri Lanka’s doors are open, not just for business, but for meaningful, long-term development collaboration.”
In a speech tailored for a corporate audience, Dissanayake reassured Vingroup of policy continuity, improved regulatory transparency, and bespoke facilitation services for large-scale investors. The President, a former leftist firebrand turned pragmatic reformer, has made economic diversification and investment promotion key pillars of his foreign policy agenda since assuming office earlier this year.
Vietnam’s experience in transforming its coastal cities into world-class tourist destinations has not gone unnoticed in Colombo. Sri Lanka, long regarded as a gem of South Asia with its pristine beaches, cultural heritage sites, and ecological diversity, has struggled in recent years to rebuild its tourism sector after the 2019 Easter bombings and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials accompanying the President pointed out that Vietnam’s tourism receipts surged post-pandemic, owing in part to large-scale infrastructure investments led by conglomerates like Vingroup. Sri Lanka now seeks to emulate this model, particularly in its eastern and southern coastal belts where tourist infrastructure remains underdeveloped.
Real estate, another pillar of Vingroup’s portfolio, is a sector that the Sri Lankan government is actively seeking to revitalise. Colombo, the island’s commercial capital, has seen a wave of new development, including high-end apartments and hotel chains, many of which stalled during the financial crisis. Fresh foreign capital could help restart several shelved projects, said officials at the Sri Lanka Board of Investment (BOI).
“We want to leverage Vingroup’s technical expertise and financing capacity in both vertical and integrated developments,” said a senior official from the BOI. “Sri Lanka offers attractive land acquisition frameworks, tax holidays, and a growing urban middle class with real housing demand.”
This visit also marks a diplomatic milestone in Sri Lanka–Vietnam relations, a partnership historically overshadowed by their respective ties with China and India. However, with both nations now navigating more autonomous foreign policies and seeking non-Western trade partners, the Colombo-Hanoi corridor has emerged as a pragmatic pairing.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, who accompanied the President on the visit, said that Vietnam and Sri Lanka share a common development narrative — both post-colonial economies with strategic geographies and aspirations for technological self-sufficiency.
“There is a lot Sri Lanka can learn from Vietnam’s state–private sector coordination model,” said Herath, referencing the Vietnamese government’s ability to mobilise private capital for public infrastructure goals. “And there is also much Vietnam can gain by using Sri Lanka as an investment bridge into South Asia.”
According to diplomats familiar with the matter, Vietnam is keen to explore trade route access to the Indian Ocean through Sri Lanka, particularly as tensions rise in the South China Sea. There is also growing interest in knowledge exchange programmes in logistics, port management, and digital transformation.
While Vingroup has not yet formally confirmed any investment pledges, sources close to the company suggest that it is actively exploring regional expansion as part of its post-pandemic diversification strategy. With VinFast, the group’s electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary, now listed on the NASDAQ and aiming for global penetration, Vingroup is keen to strengthen its international brand presence.
“Sri Lanka could serve as a South Asian base for a logistics hub or even a regional R&D centre, given its educated workforce and port infrastructure,” one source familiar with the group’s international strategy told FT.
VinFast, in particular, is scouting for emerging markets to test new mobility solutions. With Sri Lanka’s EV policy incentives and recent discussions on green transport corridors, Colombo may find an interested partner in Vingroup.
Still, analysts caution that Vingroup — and Vietnamese investors more broadly — will look closely at Sri Lanka’s regulatory risk, forex repatriation guarantees, and political stability before committing major capital.
“The opportunity is there, but it needs to be de-risked,” said a regional investment advisor based in Ho Chi Minh City. “Sri Lanka has to show it is not just open for business, but serious about seeing projects through.”
President Dissanayake’s Hanoi trip is being seen domestically as a litmus test of his administration’s ability to deliver on economic diplomacy. His invitation to Vingroup reflects an evolving foreign policy that blends ideological non-alignment with practical engagement — a pivot away from dependency on traditional donors and towards diversified private partnerships.
The outreach to Vingroup may also signal Sri Lanka’s intent to position itself as a neutral, opportunity-rich platform amidst the geopolitical crosscurrents of the Indo-Pacific — attractive to both Chinese and non-Chinese investors navigating great-power rivalries.
As Sri Lanka looks to exit crisis mode and enter a phase of cautious optimism, the President’s message is clear: foreign capital, especially from like-minded Asian partners, will be central to the country’s economic reboot.
“This is not just an invitation,” Dissanayake is reported to have told the Vingroup delegation, “It is a call to build a new future together.”
-By Lanka-e-News Hanoi bureaux
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by (2025-05-05 18:39:46)
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