Sri Lanka’s BOI signs Rs24.58bn investments from Jan – May 2015

June 23, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment said that it has signed 42 investment agreements worth 24.58 billion rupees with enterprises representing a vast range of sectors which reflect the growing diversification of Sri Lanka’s economic base and exports. The agreements includes foreign investment of 6,849 million rupees or 51 million US dollars and local investments of 17,734 million rupees. The total estimated value of the signed agreements was 24,588 million rupees. The new agreements include sectors such as mini hydropower plants, software development, tourist hotels, apparels manufacturing, apartment complexes, BPO for legal services, hospital, satellite TV broadcasting, plantation, leisure & cruise services and logistics operations etc. The BOI said that out of total agreements signed, 36 were new agreements and six were expansions of existing projects. In the period under review the highest value of signed agreements for new projects was in the service sector totaling 6,715 million rupees accounts for 25.11 percent of the total investment followed by tourism and leisure 4,772 million rupees (19.41%),utilities 3,680 million rupees (15% ) and agriculture 3,282 million rupees (13.36% ). Expansions in January to May 2015 were mainly in the manufacturing sector representing 708 million rupees, followed by infrastructure which was estimated 392 million rupees and apparel representing 198 million rupees. BOI said that an estimated 5,141 employment opportunities are to be created by the projects signed in the first five months of 2015 and indirect employment opportunities would be three-fold of the direct employment opportunities. About 2,320 employment opportunities are to be created in the apparel sector, 758 in tourism and leisure sector, 534 in infrastructure and 369 in knowledge services.