The BOI targets USD 2 billion in FDIs this year of which USD 1 billion will be realised, BOI Director General Renuka Weerakone said on the sidelines of a ceremony to launch the Long Term Residence Visa for BOI enterprises recently.
“We are confident of reaching our investment targets this year with the commitment of the new minister and the team,” Weerakoon said.
However, she said it all depends on the situation in the country which hopefully would ease in the coming months.
The BOI signed agreements to the tune of USD 765 million during the first three months this year.
“We expect the crisis to ease off soon rather than aggravating further which could have a dent on investments,” the DG of the apex investment body said.
The BOI inked 13 investments contracts including three major projects to the value of around USD 20 million in May.
The apex agency for promoting foreign direct investments launched a series of online webinars aimed at raising awareness about the potential investment opportunities in the country and attracting new investors.
A salient factor of attracting investors is the ease of doing businesses, the BOI Director General said, adding that the five-year resident visa program was rolled out to match the global benchmark to provide long term visas for investors which also had been a long-felt need.
Issuing long-term visas for investors has been the practice as per the international standards. On par with matching the international benchmark in respect of ease of doing business, the BOI has decided to launch this program to attract more investors to the country. The long-term visa program, a long-felt need, primarily aims to facilitate the investors who wish to embark on a journey with the BOI.
The BOI annually issues 7,500-8,000 visa recommendations for investors, employees and dependents. The BOI has granted visas for foreign nationals from 109 countries such as India, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan which represent the most applicants based on last year’s statistics.
Investment Promotion Minister Dhammika Perera said, “Before the implementation of this program, they had to go through a long documentation process every year to get these visas.
Having understood the prime need to provide a seamless and convenient service for investors, we have launched the new program.”
BOI Director General Renuka M. Weerakone said, “It is certainly a pleasure to see all our long-standing investors on this special day of launching the long-term residence visa program for investors.
“You all have been the contributors towards 65% of export earnings to Sri Lanka and have stood by us even in times of difficult periods that our country faced, which we wish to acknowledge with great gratitude.
“As far as the new program is concerned, the visa application process can be accessed online and the BOI is also using an online facility for defence clearance and plans to introduce the same mechanism with the Department of Immigration and Emigration,” Ms Weerakone said.
The BOI launched a five-year strategic plan to woo FDIs last month.
The BOI secured projects to the value of over $2.3 bn in 2020 despite the global challenges,