Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment’s foreign direct investments jump to $ 1.5 billion
The Morning: The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka said that despite the domestic and global turbulent atmosphere, Sri Lanka has been able to register and approve Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) mounting to $ 1.5 billion in 2023.
It is in Year-on-Year comparison, growth of 122% in 2023.
Minister of Investment Promotions Dilum Amunugama said: “The Government’s far-sighted and politically unpopular economic stabilization measurement has provided a much-needed foundation for reforms in the institutional and regulatory front; hence it has communicated positive signals to our investor community. The significant achievement of curbing the accelerating cost of living which has resulted in the single digit of inflation from 74% in September 2022 to 1.5 % in October 2023.”
In the context of the Internal macroeconomic situation, Sri Lanka’s rating, the default of paying debtors and political uncertainty send a less investor-friendly signal to the outside world at the beginning of 2022. Yet in 2023 the economy was slowly but steadily pulled back from the worst economic situation post-independence era, the Minister added.
The baseline forecast is for global growth to slow from 3.5% in 2022 to 3.0% in 2023 and 2.9% in 2024, well below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.8%. Due to the Ukraine-Russia war, the US, and UK inflation is historically 40-45%. Further negative influences due to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict will have repercussions on energy price escalation, the subject minister noted.
Minister Amunugama pointed out that “Yet as an economy, it will continue to contract in 2023, it was better than -7.8 in 2022 but in 2023 it has forecasted -2.0 negative growth. It is an arduous task to attract FDI amidst economic contraction.”
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic activities and growth in the key economic sectors have opened up a host of business/investment opportunities. While Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have helped boost the country’s image as an emerging business destination, local authorities are also focused on developing the country to become an emerging business destination in the region. The steady growth in several key industries in Sri Lanka including tourism, manufacturing and exports indicate an overall expansion in business/investment opportunities in the country. With a growth in the country’s business potential and the increasing interest shown by foreign businesses/investors in Sri Lanka, other foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the growing opportunities in the country.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20231129/Z_3 |