Sri Lanka’s BOI eyes $ 1.5 billion FDI target amid investor interest
The Morning: The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka is ambitious in achieving its revised target of $ 1.5 billion foreign direct investment (FDIs) inflows by the end of 2023 due to the willingness that has been expressed by the investors, The Daily Morning Business learnt.
Speaking to The Daily Morning Business on 24 July, BOI’s Director General (Acting) Renuka M. Weerakoon said, “We have many investors that have come in. Our (BOI’s) target at the beginning of the year was $1.3 billion and we have been asked to achieve $1.5 billion. We are working towards that.”
She added that in the first quarter (1Q), the BOI has been able to achieve FDIs amounting to $ 211 million while the amount for the month of June, is still being calculated for the second quarter (2Q) FDIs.
During the recent press conference titled ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC), State Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama stated that the BOI has approved investments of $ 682 million from January to July.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Weerakone earlier revealed that the BOI had received investment proposals of over $ 600 million in value over the period from January to May 2023 which involves investments in 22 new projects and investments in six project expansions.
Accordingly, Weerakone noted while speaking to The Sunday Morning Business that the BOI was aiming to achieve a total committed investment of $ 2.6 billion, while the total realized investment was expected to be around $ 1.5 billion this year.
In 2022, per the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) statistics, Sri Lanka was able to surpass $ 1 billion FDIs in 2022 despite the economic crisis in which loans received by companies registered under the BOI, increased notably by 37.9%, year-on-year, to $ 1,075.66 million in 2022, compared to that of $ 780.2 million recorded in 2021.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka is focused on attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the country as it is now on the path to recovery after facing the impact of the global pandemic and an economic crisis that followed it. The government of Sri Lanka has prepared various incentive schemes covering the key economic sectors to attract foreign investments. The country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have also helped boost Sri Lanka’s image as an emerging business destination in the South Asian region. Given the expanding economic conditions in the country, there has been a steady growth in the inflow of foreign investments to Sri Lanka. With Sri Lanka’s growth and business potential showing a steady growth, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the expanding opportunities in the country. They could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses with the aim of further expansions.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20230810/Z_1 |