New agency to spur investments and export promotion
A top regulatory powered investment promotion agency (authority) will take up the task of expediting the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country efficiently and expeditiously, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe told the Business Times.
Institutions connected to investment and exports will function under the proposed new agency following the re-enactment of the 1978 Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) laws making it compatible with modern day needs.
A special committee appointed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe has already made a recommendation to set up this new agency by bringing the Board of Investment (BOI), the Export Development Board (EDB) and the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SLECIC) together onto one platform, he said.
National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) and other entities that support exports and investments will also come under the purview of the new agency.
Budget 2023 has allocated Rs. 100 million to implement the investment and export sector reforms expeditiously.
The government has taken this decision after evaluating the performance of these institutions during the recent past. On average, it takes around 170 days to approve an investment project in Sri Lanka as these processes involve over 40 line agencies, it has been observed.
At present there are 73 project proposals still to get approval at around 10 different agencies. The delay in approving the projects does not auger well for investors.
The aim is to expedite and streamline the investment approval process to cater to the needs of investors within four or five days under one roof on the directions of the President.
President Wickremesinghe has also instructed to introduce efficient systems replacing the present slow and lethargic investment promotion and approval processes with the use of modern IT and digital technology.
The EDB and the BOI will have to work together as there is a very strong economic connection between investments and exports of the country, the Minister said.
The new agency will bring these two entities together in the successful attraction of FDI into the country which will result in enhancing the country’s export earnings via the export earning enterprises.
This in turn leads to wealth creation and employment generation which is a common goal of both entities, he added.
Minister Semasinghe said that the Presidential Committee is continuing discussions to devise a methodology to bring these four institutions and other line agencies under one platform of the new agency and recommend necessary reforms required to overhaul the whole structure and the relevant investment authorities.
He pointed out that the President and the government was determined to introduce new laws and reforms to facilitate small and medium scale enterprises (SME sector) to enter the export market.
Committee discussions are underway on preferential interest rates and insurance premium discounts for exporting SMEs, credit line privileges, product development exclusive to SMEs, etc.
EDB may consider reinforcing overseas market investigation to help promoting export and FDI for SMEs develop overseas markets, he added.
Sri Lanka’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy will also undergo major reform along with rearranging and repositioning the existing industrial promotion zones and export promotion zones (EPZs), a high ranking Treasury official disclosed.
The President has also instructed to explore the possibility of the setting up 1000-acre industrial zones and initiating them at Bingiriya, Hambantota and Trincomalee, he revealed.
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