The Board of Investment said yesterday that the operation at all Free Trade Zonal areas and export companies under the BOI continues to function and is bouncing back to normal operations with employees reporting for duty despite certain setbacks that were faced in the country.
The BOI said it has been communicating with the law enforcement authorities to facilitate and ensure smooth transportation of all the workers to respective factories without any difficulty.
“At the same time, we are also working hand in hand with the Sri Lanka Customs and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority with respect to smooth import and export processes for the BOI enterprises.
In the face of the current circumstances, it is of utmost importance that we keep our valued foreign exchange earnings flowing into the country by providing required assistance to our enterprises by all relevant agencies,” BOI said.
BOI apida tribute to all relevant stakeholders for the assistance provided thus far and look forward to continued cooperation of all concerned parties to ensure the smooth functioning of enterprises.
Ii has received 33 investment proposals worth US$ 1,412 million in the first quarter of this year This value includes investments of 22 new projects into diverse sectors in Energy projects including fuel and Renewable sources (solar & wind), heavy industry, logistic & IT infrastructure sectors as well as investments into 11 project expansions.
The number of new investment proposals received in the first quarter 2022 has shown an 80% increase over the corresponding period of the year 2021.
In addition, during the first three months of the year, BOI has signed agreements worth of US$ 765 million with several leading investors doubling the number of agreements signed for new investments during 1st quarters of 2021.
The BOI has continued to maintain the investor confidence through its strong facilitation process leading to attraction of new investments as well as investment for project expansions despite the impact of the pandemic and resultant economic conditions.
Work is in progress to establish a special unit styled “Investment Facilitation Centre (IFC)” within the BOI premises to expedite investment approval process in collaboration with line agencies, by way of granting all the necessary approvals both internal & external for project establishment through a central facilitation point.
In the first quarter 2022, BOI has made significant strides towards digitization of the investor service process by introducing paperless import export documentation for Customs approvals and automating payment of export verification charges, thus providing efficient and transparent procedures for the benefit of the investors.
In addition, action has been initiated to provide readily available developed lands for investment projects for identified sectors such as textile and pharmaceutical manufacturing, agro-based industries, electrical and electronic, steel & heavy industry as well as the ICT sector creating opportunities for investors to set up business ventures in Sri Lanka.
Other initiatives undertaken in the first quarter of this year includes the re-launching of the BOI website to ensure the availability of updated information to assist potential investors to better understand the business and investment climate to make informed decisions on investments.
The BOI believes that all the initiatives undertaken and other planned activities will better facilitate existing and potential investors to conduct seamless operations and establish new ventures.
