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Mr. Smith was speaking on the “Dangers of Conventional Wisdom”. He said that Sri Lanka was a country that had overcome other periods of difficulty. “We are confident that you can and will again. In short, we are confident that Sri Lanka has a bright future and our desire to continue to grow our business here remains undiminished.” His talk included a rapid review of what international economists think might happen, in terms of growth fore casts, in various Asian economies. The countries covered in this review included (alphabetically) China, Hongkong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. Mr. Smith said: “Most business people I talk to are deep down less concerned about whether a particular economy’s GDP is going to be higher or lower by half a per cent during the next 12 months. Instead they want to know more about the underlying business environment. Is a particular economy growth-oriented? Are there opportunities to make money? Does the economy have potential over the longer term? Is there a functioning legal system? Is the political system robust? For many economies in Asia – including Sri Lanka – the answer is a resounding ‘yes’ on all counts. “I can say this with considerable confidence because HSBC does not let short-term events – or forecasts! – influence its long-term thinking. Referring to Sri Lanka Mr. Smith said: “As for Sri Lanka in particular, we have been here for over a century, more than 114 years to be precise. Obviously during this time we have seen your country overcome other periods of difficulty. We are confident that you can and will again. In short, we are confident that Sri Lanka has a bright future and our desire to continue to grow our business here remains undiminished. Of course, the bottom line when expressing confidence in the future is that predictions are just predictions, words are just words, only actions are reality. A year ago, we approved a capital infusion of 30 million US dollars for the further expansion of HSBC’s business here in Sri Lanka. Two months ago, we further demonstrated our support of the local financial industry by arranging a 25 million US dollar one-year term loan facility for Sampath Bank. In a few hours from now, we will be officially opening another HSBC branch in Sri Lanka at Negombo. And in a few weeks, we expect to finalize the arranging of an international syndicated loan of over 100 million US for Bank of Ceylon. Actions, which from my perspective, speak for themselves in terms of our commitment to and our confidence in your country.”
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