Colombo – Chinese firms are in talks with Sri Lankan government to invest in the country’s plantation industry, particularly natural rubber.

In a 27 Aug report, the Colombo-based Daily Mirror quoted Sri Lankan officials as saying that Chinese firms had particularly expressed a strong interest in investing in the country’s NR production value chain.

This, said the officials, is because “China has identified that natural rubber would become the most strategic material in the world during the next 7-10 years.”

The Sri Lankan government has recently signed an agreement with the Chinese Hainan province for technical assistance in rubber production.

According to the report, the Chinese central government has committed to invest $30-40 million (€25.6-34.2 million) to transform Sri Lanka’s natural rubber industry and invest in finished rubber goods.