Sri Lanka leader assures autonomy to BOI, no political favouritism for new investments
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has assured autonomy for the state-run Board of Investment (BOI) in attracting clean investments without any political favouritism, his office said.
Sri Lanka has been ranked low in ease of doing business due to several layers of red tape, bribes, and political favouritism in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the past.
Government sources said the government was in the process of digitizing FDI applications to minimize corruption and red tape with some developed nations pledging significant FDI if the island nation reduces the red tape and corruption.
President Dissanayake during a discussion held with senior officials of the BOI has said with the political stability after the new government, “an environment suitable for investment has been created”.
The President’s Media Division (PMD) said in a statement the President had also emphasized that there would be no political influence in granting new investment opportunities, such as those based on political affiliations.
“The President assured the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka would be granted full autonomy to attract clean investments that are beneficial to the country,” the PMD said, explaining that he had assured the BOI would be granted full independence to attract investors who can bring meaningful benefits to the nation. Additionally, the President had announced that the upcoming budget would prioritize provisions to enhance the BOI’s efficiency and that plans were also underway to establish five new investment zones across the country next year.
Sri Lanka had been expecting to sign FDI agreements of $3 billion in 2024, but a delay in a refinery to be built by Sinopec of China is likely to reduce that target significantly, a BOI official said.
-economynext.com
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