Sri Lanka targets $5 bln FDI in new investment promotion plan
Sri Lanka is to unveil an investment promotion plan next month targeting US$5 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the next three years. The plan has already been formulated by the Ministry of Development strategies and International trade, its Minister Malik Samarawickrema said on Monday. Last year the country has been able to muster $700-800 million in FDI. The minister said that the Board of Investment (BOI) is gearing up for the implementation of the plan and its revitalised one-stop shop operations have been launched. The ministry will also conduct roadshows in the US, Middle East, Japan, Korea, China, India and several other countries to lure investors in collaboration with the BOI and Export Development Board.
Special investment promotion zones will be set up in Trincomalee, Kandy, Kalmunai and Bentota designated for tourism, industries, fisheries, port and other industrial ventures. The minister made these revelations when he addressed a media conference in Colombo to brief media personnel on the ‘Invest in East 2016’ investment promotion forum to be held in Colombo on Tuesday January 26. Sri Lanka’s Eastern District of Trincomalee will also be developed on the lines of the Western Region Megapolis, Mr. Samarawickrema said adding that an economic zone would be established in the area, with Chinese investor assistance. He said that he will be visiting China next month to prepare the groundwork for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’ s official tour of China in March.
The government is to set up two coal power projects 500 MW each with Japanese and Indian assistance, he disclosed. The (military-run) airport at Batticaloa will be transformed into a civilian-managed airport soon to attract tourists to the Eastern Province improving connectivity with the involvement of Sri Lankan airlines, he revealed, adding that a dockyard is to be constructed by a Chinese construction firm to build ships in Hambantota port area. Chief Minister of the Eastern Province Naseer Ahamed revealed that over 300 foreign investors from countries like the US, India, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Middle East are expected to participate in the Invest-in-East 2016, International Investment Promotion Forum at Galadari Hotel, Colombo.
The forum has been designed to attract a $1 billion FDI to the east, he disclosed. A field visit to the East has been arranged for participants, he said adding that agriculture, fisheries and tourism have been identified as core areas in the province to be developed with foreign investments.
There is a vast potential for organic agriculture for exports by utilising a million hectares of land in the area, he opined.