He said that the tax on their earnings keeps on changing and this is not good. “We need a clear and long-term policy not only on earnings of foreigners, but also on other matters relating to work visas, work permits, income tax and other matters. We don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow.”
"If you take a country like Singapore, the laws on foreigners working there have not changed for decades."
He said that Sri Lanka also needs better places for entertainment, especially for kids similar to that available in Australia and other parts of the world. “Yes, there are hotels, but people need large entertainment areas in Colombo, where both kids and parents can relax and enjoy.”
"However, we are happy that the country has no terrorism and violence. He said that he is happy with the standard of education in Sri Lanka, especially for expat kids as there is a choice. Health care standards are also good, he said.
Commenting on Visa's operations in Sri Lanka, he said that the country is slowly but surely moving away from using cash and looking at other options.
A: Sri Lanka has seen a 15% increase in the use of credit and 11% in debit cards until July 2017, according to Central Bank figures. There are over 19.5 million cards in total in circulation in Sri Lanka.
Today, there are more than 18 million debit cards and 1.4 million credit cards in circulation, providing around 70 per cent of the population with access to a digital form of payment. Combined with 126 per cent mobile penetration (where one person could own more than one SIM), I believe Sri Lanka is well placed to become the first South Asian economy to truly transition into a digital economy.
Transactions done on cards last year sans cash withdrawals were Rs 290 billion and this number excludes cash withdrawals from 2016 and includes POS and e-commerce transactions as well.
As only less than 5% of transactions are done via cards, there is a lot of opportunity for the industry to grow. We see a greater shift from cash to cards, which is encouraging.
I must also say that last month, I travelled 1,168 km around the country on a three wheeler in the pursuit of going cashless and raising funds for charity, as part of the 2017 Pimp My Tuk Tuk Challenge.
This is the second year the Pimp My Tuk Tuk Challenge has taken place in Sri Lanka and in 2017 the journey saw 52 local and international riders in 26 tuk tuks raise more than US$250,000 for local charities across the country.
I feel extremely privileged to have been able to take part in this challenge, which has given me tremendous insight into the local communities across this beautiful country and the opportunity to give back by fundraising along the way.
The tuk tuk journey, consisting of a convoy of brightly painted three wheelers, delivered supplies and supported charity projects all the way from Chilaw to Trincomalee and Hambantota, finally winding up in Galle and Hikkaduwa, before returning to Colombo.
As the usage of smartphones and internet grows throughout Sri Lanka, so will the willingness on the part of consumers to embrace technology. Various business models and apps being used are going to change the landscape for payments in Sri Lanka. There is likely to be a surge of growth in digital payments in this manner.
Contactless payments are rapidly growing in popularity across the world and in Sri Lanka too, this segment is showing growth. In Sri Lanka, contactless payments began rolling out only in September 2016 and so far growth numbers across the first 12 months are growing rapidly.
Q: What are the new innovations that you see in Sri Lankan industry in this segment?
A: In addition to the shift to card payments, we also see more apps being created in the banking segment for customers to move to online and phone banking.
Today, movie tickets, transport and several dining options too are offered online and this segment is growing. This indicates the appetite of the people to move towards digital space.
Q: How do you see the Visa business in Maldives?
A: Here again we see increase in business and this is mainly driven by tourism.
Q: What is the best place you like to spend a holiday in Sri Lanka?
A: Firstly, I must say that the standard and services of the hotels are of very high quality. I like the Cultural Triangle and also Yala. I am also fascinated by the Trincomalee beach. Sri Lankan biodiversity is huge and is similar to that of Australia. But you can see different terrain in Sri Lanka in a shorter time.
I must also say that the attitude of Sri Lankans to help is in their DNA and this is really highlighted when people are in distress.
Once when our car broke down a ‘local’ came forward to our assistance and even went on his motorbike to the next garage to fix our vehicle problem, just for nothing. This is amazing.
Q: What do you miss in Sri Lanka?
A: It’s definitely the Australian cool beer and Aussie meat pie!
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