Sri Lanka postpones setting a foreign direct investment target

March 05, 2015 (LBO) - Sri Lanka’s 100 day administration has taken a back seat in setting a foreign direct investment goal for this year after authorities failed to meet their targets in the recent past. Board of investment which comes under the purview of the investment promotion ministry dejected after it sets a target of 2.0 billion US dollars for 2013 and 2.5 billion US dollars for 2014.

There is no need to set unrealistic targets and also we don’t want to sell the country for the sake of foreign investments, Investment promotion minister Kabir Hashim told LBO.

Instead we are committed to develop the one stop shop concept during our 100 days programme.

One stop shop introduced by the early administration is an extension of all in one concept.

It allows foreign investors to obtain necessary project approvals in a short period of time under one roof.

Inconsistent tax policies and tax holidays granted for certain businesses even without accessing projects have led to the concept unviable for the legitimate investors.

There are approved investments that are not increasing the production of the country. Most of them are hotels or mixed developments p