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| Sunday, 12 January 2003 |
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Half billion US dollars : Foreign investment to double this year by ELMO LEONARD Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Sri Lanka this year is expected to top half a billion US dollars, or about Rs. 48 billion, Government economic experts say. This big leap in investment, double the US $ 240 million in FDI that came in via the Board of Investment (BoI) in 2002, is seen as reflecting heightened global investor confidence in local stability. In pre-peace Sri Lanka in 2001, foreign direct investment made up a meagre $ 83 million. The peace process which has now held for a year, and the commitment of the Government and the LTTE to enter into a permanent peace process is luring foreign investors to the island, a BoI spokesman said. The spurt in interest in Sri Lanka by industrialists from Europe, Korea, Singapore, Japan, China and Taiwan and other nations is also in order to gain access to the vast subcontinental market, making use of the Free Trade Agreement between India and Sri Lanka. Every month, five to 25 companies sign BoI agreements, varying in value from $50,000 to those covering many million dollars BoI's media director, Dilip Samarasinghe told the 'Sunday Observer'. During the height of the civil war in Sri Lanka foreign companies who set up units here, mainly comprised those of the garment manufacturing industry. Today, companies investing here include a diversifies range of industrialists, from light engineering to electronic and software components, tanneries, and even new agricultural crops which have demand in international exports. The BoI is intent on bringing in investors to develop the infrastructure of the island, and expect large companies from USA, Singapore and Malaysia to come in, in the next few months. These companies are expected to undertake projects as roads, airport and ports, power generation, agronomy, utilisation of land etc. |
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