The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) presented a five-year strategic plan with the expectation of attracting sustainable foreign direct investment (FDI) to Sri Lanka. 

A virtual round table titled “Investment Facilitation for Development: How Asian and Pacific Economies will Benefit” was held on 19 May in Bangkok, Thailand, jointly implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the German Development Institute/Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), during which the framework of the Investment Facilitation for Development project, the strategic plan for FDIs, was presented.

Speaking on the theme of “Which investment facilitation measures are most important”, BOI Sri Lanka Director General Renuka Weerakone stated: “The BOI recently launched its strategic framework for the next five years, which presents a strategic approach in targeting and securing significantly higher levels of quality and sustainable foreign direct investment (FDI) for Sri Lanka, which would contribute substantially to the Government’s economic development agenda by creating employment opportunities, increasing export revenue and developing infrastructure.”

Weerakone highlighted that “within this framework, investment facilitation has been identified as a core stimulator under the overall investment policy, with a view to ensuring an efficient, transparent and predictable business climate”. 

Further, she mentioned that investment facilitation has been recognised as a key measure for post-pandemic recovery of the economy. In the broader context of facilitation, the BOI engages with investors from the point of first inquiry by providing detailed information on the investment climate, priority sectors, investment incentives, country competencies, and locational advantages. 

In order to streamline the approval process, the BOI has adopted several measures to enhance Investment facilitation including the “Investor Facilitation Centre”, which ecompasses digitalisation of the organisation to handle customs functions more effectively. She also stated that BOI is focusing on facilitation to encourage existing investors to reinvest and expand their operations.

She concluded by saying that to facilitate investors, the BOI has taken various measures to assist BOI enterprises to continue with their operations despite various challenges.