Global Thought Leaders to Headline the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2025

A powerhouse roster of international and regional experts headlined the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2025 (SLEIS 2025), setting the stage for a world-class dialogue on reform, resilience and investment-led growth.

Organised by The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the two-day summit took place on 2–3 December 2025 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, gathering policymakers, investors and business leaders.

Keynote speakers

• Kenneth Shen, Chairman of EDOTCO Group (Malaysia) and Astro Holdings: three decades in investment, corporate finance and capital markets, speaking on regional capital flows and private-sector transformation.
• Gevorg Sargsyan, World Bank Country Manager for Sri Lanka: two decades in infrastructure, energy and climate finance, and former Global Lead for Clean Energy.
• Dr. Alex Patelis, former Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Greece, ex-Global Head of FX & Debt Strategy at Merrill Lynch: lessons from Greece’s post-crisis recovery.
• Tim Miltenburg, Global Head of Decarbonisation at APM Terminals: green logistics and APM’s path to net-zero terminals by 2040.
• Ruchir Desai, Co-Fund Manager of the AFC Asia Frontier Fund (Hong Kong), named Best Emerging Market Equity Fund at the 2025 Asian Investor Asset Management Awards.
• Natalie Kidd, Managing Director of Intrepid Travel – Asia, former board member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
• Prof. Sanjay Kathuria, Visiting Senior Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress and former World Bank economist: trade, competitiveness and South Asian integration.
• Imad N. Fakhoury, IFC Regional Director for South Asia and former Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.
• Arjuna Herath, Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, on the drive to attract sustainable, export-oriented investment.

Partners

SLEIS 2025 was supported by platinum sponsors Nestlé, Standard Chartered Bank and Unilever; silver sponsor VISA; bronze sponsor South Asia Gateway Terminals; session sponsors Colombo Stock Exchange and Sunshine Holdings; Dialog and Dialog Television; hospitality partner Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo; strategic partners including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Commerce, the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development, the Board of Investment, the Export Development Board and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau; strategic development partner the Asian Development Bank; knowledge partner the World Bank; logistics partner Hayleys Advantis; and official airline SriLankan Airlines.