WB ranks Sri Lanka in second slot

By Naalir Jamaldeen

There is a conducive environment for foreign investments in Sri Lanka. The World Bank (WB) has ranked Sri Lanka at second place out of 144 countries which are suitable for investment.Compared to last year, the flow of investments to the country from January to June has increased by 20 percent. Investors from various countries have invested US$ 540 million on various projects, Investment Promotion Minister, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane said.

The Government will sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China before November. Under the FTA, 100 percent tax relief will be given on imports and exports between the two countries for products which are included in the agreement, Minister Abeywardane said. The single largest foreign funded investment was the Colombo International Container Terminal.

Hongkong and China have invested US$ 116.27 million on this project. In addition, Cairn (Pvt) Ltd in the United Kingdom has invested US$ 29.4 million while MAS Fabric (Pvt) Ltd from Hong Kong has invested US$ 25.5 million, the Minister said.

He said that the Board of Investment (BOI) has introduced an online application system for the large number of investors keen on investing in Sri Lanka. All processes from receiving applications to paying for the application could be carried out over the online system.

Investors can check whether the application has been approved or rejected. If the application receives approval further details in relation to payment and other activities can be carried out over the internet. Visa and Credit Cards are also accepted.

The manufacturing sector has received investments valued at US $ 174.35 million, while the agriculture and service sectors have received US$ 2.59 million and US$ 79.05 million. US$ 284.20 million has been invested on infrastructure development alone, the Minister said.

China, Hongkong, the United Kingdom, India, Netherlands, UAE, Canada, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore and Germany are among the investors, he said.

Minister Abeywardane said that the foreign investment may increase to US$ 800 million by the end of this month. Apart from the projects that are now in operation, the BOI has also granted approval for some other projects.

The Cabinet has granted permission to two main investment projects such as the Water Front project which will invest US$ 850 million while providing 3,000 direct job opportunities. Lanka Leisure Holdings (Pvt) Ltd will implement a resort project at D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha at a cost of US$ 350 million while providing 2,600 direct job opportunities. These projects are expected to be completed within five years.

Arrangements have been made to get parliamentary approval by October, the Minister said. A hotel with 400 rooms will be constructed. A meeting room, a convention centre, a restaurant and other facilities will be available at the resort, the Minister said.

The Minister said that the BOI is in discussion with giant foreign investors to attract investments to Sri Lanka in the future. The Hambantota project of Chan Kin Lai Hambantota will be launched soon. They are in the process of drafting plans to implement the Colombo project.

The Krrish project will be launched after the remaining Rs. 595 million is paid.