Amid a very challenging local and global business landscape the BOI (Board of Investment) is confident of achieving the FDI target of this year said BOI Director General Renuka Weerakone last week on the progress made by the apex investment promotion body so far this year and plans for the year ahead.
“I am confident that we could reach the USD $ 2 billion FDI target and make 2022 a successful year despite all odds,” Weerakone said.
Weerakone expressed optimism on the ongoing initiatives to make BOI a seamless investment facilitator than a regulator.
The BOI has surpassed the halfway mark of the $ 2 billion Committed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) target for 2022.
“As of the first week of August, we have signed 75 agreements to the value of $ 1.29 billion, which consists of $ 925 million foreign and $ 361 million local investments. Of these 75 projects, 26 are new and the remaining 49 are expansion projects. The total realised FDIs up to the first quarter is $ 228 million,” she said in a statement.
Despite the country’s multiple challenges, the Director-General asserted that this year had been buoyant overall.
“I cannot say it is a great year, but it has been promising because even amidst the economic and political crises, we have attracted investment. The majority of these investments are coming from existing investors expanding their capacities and reinvesting in new areas. We are optimistic that these committed investments will soon be converted as realised investments,” she said.
Weerakone also noted that the high number of expansion projects shows the level of confidence among the existing investors in the Sri Lankan economy. “Multiple investors are knocking on the door for sizable renewable energy projects. We hope the new laws passed in the Parliament on the energy industry will help to realise these investments soon,” she said. She said that the BOI is constantly working on streamlining services offered to investors, whilst introducing new digital applications to curb physical interaction wherever possible.
The vigorous investment facilitation, ironing out various bottlenecks that hampered the realisation of investments, and strengthening the digital transformation of BOI along with line Ministries and agencies were outlined as focus areas to ensure seamless delivery of services to enterprises.
“What we need now is to create positivity about Sri Lanka’s agility and resilience. At BOI, our collective focus is on bringing in new investments and facilitating the related licensing and operational activities to lure the best possible earnings to Sri Lanka and boost the gross domestic product (GDP) as well as its growth rate in the interest of everybody,” Weerakone said.
Overall, Sri Lanka has attracted more than US$ 228 Million in FDI during the first quarter of 2022, a 17% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year. FDI inflows to the apparel sector – considering the value of agreements signed with investors too as increased fourfold up to the end of June 2022 in comparison to January–June of the corresponding period in the previous year.
“Considering the challenges that Sri Lanka has overcome in the past, investors remain confidentof the country’s prospects and resilience,” she said.