SriLanka, Oct. 21 -- Sri Lanka must back its ambitions for higher exports and foreign direct investment with targeted policies that identify where the country can compete and address the practical needs of investors, premier diversified blue-chip John Keells Holdings PLC chief said.

JKH Chairman Krishan Balendra last week cautioned that repeated calls to boost exports and investment had not been matched by sufficient work to identify competitive products, benchmark costs against rival destinations and establish the supply chains needed to support production.

"We keep talking about exports and FDI, but we need to do a lot more work to identify in what areas that investment should be targeted," Balendra told the THINC Sri Lanka & Maldives...