Sri Lanka’s President proposes agency for external trade and investment
President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed the setting up of a new agency to enable the creation of a conducive environment for investment promotions and external trade.
The new agency is to therefore be established in place of the Board of Investment (BOI), the Export Development Board (EDB), the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SLECIC) and the National Enterprise Development Authority with the enactment of a proposed new law.
The President has proposed to allocate Rs. 100 million for this purpose.
According to Wickremesinghe, inflows of forex should be reviewed since Sri Lanka is facing forex shortages due to the ongoing economic crisis.
“It is noted for some time that the co-ordination issues associated with the Government agencies working for the external trade and investment affects the performance of the country’s exports. There are also several incentive programmes being implemented by the Government agencies to encourage exporters at present,” the President said.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka has placed much prominence in improving the ease of doing business environment in the country and wooing foreign direct investments to the country. Sri Lankan authorities have put in place many incentives for potential foreign investors to Sri Lanka and the government’s 2023 budget has further proposed measures to strengthen the investment climate in the country. Sri Lanka’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 as a growing business destination in the South Asian region. The resilience shown by many local businesses and key economic sectors amidst challenging economic conditions serves to boost confidence among foreign businesses/investors to explore the growing opportunities in Sri Lanka. Apart from exploring the expanding opportunities in the country, foreign businesses could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses aimed at expanding with Sri Lanka and in other regions.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20122022/AT_1 |