Sri Lanka attracts $ 197 million in Q1 foreign direct investments
The Morning: Sri Lanka has received $ 197 million through foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the first quarter of 2025, while the government expects tourism revenue to reach $ 4 billion, Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma said.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, he said that for the first quarter, the actual number of investments that have reached Sri Lanka as FDIs is at $ 197 million.
“We believe these numbers will improve as we move forward,” he said adding that “this is to encourage and give hope to the businesses that the plan is working.”
Moreover, he said that the entities that are assigned for these tasks are working to deliver those plans as well.
“Government is keeping a keen eye, regular monitoring, and regular engagement to ensure facilitation is provided and the regulatory environment is enabled to continue these activities,” Suriyapperuma added.
The government is expecting to bring in $ 2 billion in FDIs in 2025, while planning for $ 879 million investments from local investors in the year.
Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment signed 41 new projects and 33 project extensions between January and December 2024, the estimated total investment in the 74 projects is $ 608 million, which is only a mere $ 110 million growth in the second half of the year after recording $ 498 million investments in the first half.
Furthermore, Suriyapperuma said that the government expects the tourist arrivals to reach three million in 2025, of which year-to-date arrivals are nearing one million, while expecting $ 4 billion from tourism of which $ 900 million has been collected thus far.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic activities and the overall economic expansion have opened up a host of business/investment opportunities in key economic sectors in the country. With Sri Lanka working towards becoming a hub in the South Asian region supported by the country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the strong trade concessions as well as trade agreements enjoyed with many foreign countries, the expanding business/investment opportunities in all key economic sectors serve as attractive business ventures for foreign businesses/investors. It is in such a backdrop that the Sri Lanka authorities are focused on attracting more foreign businesses/investors to the country through promotional campaigns in foreign countries while also presenting many incentives to businesses/investors interested in doing business in the country. Given the increasing growth and business potential in Sri Lanka, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in the expanding economic sectors in the country. Foreign businesses could also look at expanding operations in Sri Lanka as well as regionally by forming partnerships or joint ventures with Sri Lankan businesses.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20250526/Z_1 |