FDI growth nearly 50%

FDI growth nearly 50% 

October 13, 2014 2:00 am

By Mario Andree

Ceylon Finance Today: After receiving more than US$ 1.36 billion during the first three quarters through Foreign Direct Investment, the government now needs US$ 640 million more to achieve this year's revised FDI target of US$ 2 billion.

Minister of Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena recently told journalists that the country received US$ 1.36 billion during the three quarters ended 30 September, which was a nearly 50% increase over the FDI received during the same period last year.

According to him, now the country required only US$ 640 million to achieve this year's FDI goal of US$ 2 billion. The government considering the country's failure to attract the anticipated Foreign Direct investment during the last...two years revised this year's target to US$ 2 billion from US$ 2.5 billion announced early this year.

The country failed to achieve the FDI targets for the last two years, falling short by US$ 160 million in 2012 and US$ 610 million in 2013 to achieve US$ 1.5 billion and US$ 2 billion respectively.

Abeywardena said that the Ministry and the country's investment promotion agency were pushing to achieve this year's FDI goal, and there were a few inflows which were guaranteed to arrive.
Further, the BOI would also open two counters at the Bandaranaike International Airport to facilitate investors, through a specialized privilege card scheme to minimize hassle.

Many businessmen and experts while highlighting the importance of FDI, warned that foreign investors were deterred due to issues pertaining to rule of law, governance and transparency, currently prevailing in the country.

The government is expecting more than US$ 4.5 billion by 2016 for the country to reach US$ 100 billion GDP by that year. The minister confidently said the Board of Investment would continue to push for mixed and strategic development to attract more inflows, while smaller projects would help cover the balance.

The BOI has planned to introduce several tax concessions through the budget, expected to be presented in Parliament in November.

Further, to facilitate investors, the Board of Investment also has decided to introduce an exit route through Sri Lanka's capital market.