News
More foreign companies get tax holidays
The Government now wants to give attractive tax and other concessions to two Hong Kong firms which want to build apartment units, club houses, shopping complexes and car parking facilities along R.A. de Mel Mawatha (Duplication Road) in Kollupitiya for US $250 million.
The rationale for the project, according to Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, is for the “promotion of tourism.” He says in a memorandum to his ministerial colleagues that tourism “attracts highest priority in economic development as per the development strategy of the Government.”
Besides “employment generation,” Minister Abeywardena claims, it has “potential employment generation” to “attract high spending foreign tourists and the consequent large foreign exchange turnover.” Hence, he has asked that “strategic enterprise status” be granted to Avic International Hotels Lanka Limited and Nice View Investment Ltd. of Hong Kong through tax holidays and a variety of other concessions. He claims that the two companies are 100 per cent foreign owned.
It was only last month Parliament approved regulations under the Strategic Development Projects Act No 14 of 2008. These were for what was called three “integrated projects” including two with hotels which have a combined capacity of 900 rooms. The third, though described as a “super luxury tourist resort”, does not give the number of rooms. Some UPFA leaders and opposition political parties have alleged that those projects are for casinos. This is besides a number of other tourist hotels with more room capacity set to open in the coming year.
Minister Abeywardena says the Hong Kong companies will build 528 apartment projects but does not explain in his recommendation whether high spending tourists will use such facilities as opposed to super luxury hotels to be built.