Govt. focus on more exports, more FDI

The government is focused on improving exports and increasing the foreign direct investments (FDIs) as they don't believe in borrowing every year, International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama told a media briefing on Tuesday.

He pointed out that with most Asian nations moving rapidly the government is focused on increasing its exports and FDI and moving into modern technology.

Mr. Samarawickrama said that Sri Lanka had performed better compared to the first half of last year in terms of exports achieving US$8.4 billion in revenue with a growth rate of 11.4 per cent.

However, he pointed out that Sri Lanka was faced with a number of issues like natural disasters, a constitutional coup and the Easter Sunday tragedy that impacted investor confidence.

The minister was confident of some substantial investment coming into the country and noted that they expect exports to reach 20 per cent of GDP and $20 billion revenue by the end of the year.

The ultimate objective is to increase the country's exports to $28 billion by the year 2022. (SD)