Sri Lankan minister says FDIs valued at over US$ 20 billion approved by Board of Investment
Sri Lanka’s International Trade and Development Strategies Minister Malik Samarawickrama has reportedly stated that the Board of Investment (BOI) has approved foreign direct investment (FDI) projects amounting over US$ 20 billion for this year.
“This year itself, the BOI has approved FDI projects worth over US$ 20 billion. There is one project which has just been approved by the Cabinet, amounting to US$ 15 billion,” the Minister has said at the 23rd Presidential Export Award ceremony held recently.
The Minister has further noted that many of these projects will take at least three to four years to be fully operational with all the right environmental clearances and that these are all in the pipeline.
These projects are to provide direct employment to over 25,000 people.
“Make no mistake about the fact that export-oriented FDI is crucial for our country. No other major exporting country in Asia grew their exports without export-oriented FDI being an integral part of it,” Samarawickrama has been quoted as saying.
Noting that Sri Lanka can be proud of its FDI achievements, which are now picking up, the Minister has said between 1978 and 2018, the FDI inflows to Sri Lanka were US$ 17.3 billion, while from 2015 to mid-2019, FDI inflows have been US$ 5.8 billion.
“So, one-third of the total FDI since liberalisation of our economy has come in during just the past four years. This is a clear indication of the confidence that investors have in us and the investment prospects in our country,” he has added.
OSL take:
With Sri Lanka becoming an emerging business hub in South Asia, foreign direct investments flowing in to the country have also seen a growth. As stated by the Sri Lankan minister, a large number of foreign investments have entered the country since 2015. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean region, the ease of doing business environment in the country, the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made Sri Lanka the ideal business destination in South Asia. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore confidently explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/27092019/Z_3 |