The Investor Facilitation Coordinating Committee Meeting chaired by Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugama was recently held at the Investor Facilitation Centre (IFC), to review and discuss the issues currently faced by investors with respect to seeking approvals from relevant line agencies for investment projects.
During the meeting, the issues faced by four BOI companies operating in diverse sectors such as agriculture, fish export and mixed development, were taken into consideration. The total investment value of the projects that the four companies are currently involved in, stand as USD 76 Million with nearly 2,000 employment opportunities.
As such, the concerns with regard to the delay in obtaining lease agreement for Kuda Oya and Demodara lands from the Land Commissioner Department and obtaining the concurrence of the Department of Fisheries to purchase fish from foreign flag vessels at the Colombo Port, were raised.
Furthermore, discussions were held with officials of the Ministry of Power and Energy in relation to the approval for establishing two fuel filling stations at Katunayake and Biyagama Export Processing Zones. Also, the issues associated to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and Condominium Management Authority were discussed with relevant officials.
Accordingly, State Minister Amunugama directed the officials of pertinent line agencies to expedite the actions taken to resolve the pending issues of the investors. He also appreciated the presence of the officials of line agencies and their efforts to facilitate the investors in doing business in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the investors lauded the BOI initiative to establish the IFC, the one-stop shop service, which helps investors obtain all the approvals required for investment projects under one umbrella. Moreover, they pointed out the significance of conducting review meetings of this nature to appraise on projects that are being implemented and to address concerns of the investors.
Investor Facilitation Coordinating Committee Meetings are regularly conducted to get definite timelines for resolving issues related to investment projects pending with different line agencies. These review meetings are attended by BOI officials, relevant ministry and line agency officials, concerned investors, and other stakeholders.
Kelun Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd, one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka located at the Kandy Industrial Park., fulfils 40 per cent of total demand for saline in the country and has saved over Rs. 1.5 Billion through the manufacture of saline locally since 2017.
This was revealed during an official visit to the Industrial Park by Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugama, Board of Investment (BOI) Director General Renuka M Weerakone and Executive Director (Zones) M K D Lawrance.
Kelun Lifesciences, an Indian investment, commenced operation in 2017. A total of 230 employees are currently employing at the factory.
During the visit, the State Minister chaired a meeting with the participation of the investors of the Industrial Park, to discuss and iron out the issues faced by them.
Addressing the investors, Mr Amunugama stated “It is evident and undeniable that local productions and exports have been largely hit by global and local recessions resulting in low production and exports,”
“In this context, the Government is keen on taking pertinent measures to ensure the smooth operation of the local industries in the face of the global and local economic setbacks,” he underscored.
The State Minister proceeded to say that the Investment Promotion Ministry is in the process of making short-term and long-term strategies to address the contemporary issues confronted by the industry players so that they could carry on the operations without a hitch.
The Kandy Industrial Park, a 114 acre-land, houses 24 factories with over 10,400 worker population.
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on investment Promotion advised the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) to clearly communicate to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the Treasury that there are no investments coming in under the new enhance capital-based package and therefore a new package should be introduced.
This issue was addressed at the first meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Investment Promotion held recently (15), chaired by Hon. Dilum Amunugama, State Minister of Investment Promotion.
Hon. Dhammika Perera, Member of Parliament addressing the aforesaid issue emphasized the importance of clearly communicating the aforesaid to the CBSL and the Treasury as they need to have a clear understanding on the matter when carrying out negotiations with the IMF.
Accordingly, the Committee instructed the BOI to present data on how many projects have been received under the enhance capital-based package and how much employment and investment have been brought in under the new package at its next meeting.
Responding to the said concern, BOI officials present stated that there is no concession that they can offer as the BOI in par with the other countries, because all the tax holidays were removed and therefore a decline can be observed in the investors coming in.
Furthermore, the possibility of amending the law to enable foreigners to purchase land was also discussed.
State Ministers Hon. Diana Gamage, Hon. Prasanna Ranaweera, Hon. A. Aravindh Kuma, Members of Parliament Hon. Milan Jayathilake, Hon. Janaka Wakkumbura, Hon. Gunathilaka Rajapaksha were present at the Committee meeting held.
The Board of Investment (BOI) in collaboration with the Department of Immigration & Emigration and the Ministry of Defence today (10) launched the long-term residence visa scheme for condominium property holders in Sri Lanka.
The official function was held at the BOI auditorium under the patronage of State Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama, BOI Director General Renuka M Weerakone, Controller General of Dept. of Immigration I. S. H., and other respective officials.
Under the new visa scheme, the condominium property purchasing individuals and companies will be granted a long-term residence visa considering the investment remitted and the value of purchasing the property. This scheme will be targeted to promote the selling of condominiums/apartments to foreign nationals who wish to live in Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, individuals who invest US$ 200,000 in an urban area condominium are eligible for a 10-year long-term visa scheme while those who invest US$ 150,000 in an urban area condominium are eligible for 05 years. Further, investors who invest US$ 75,000 in suburban area condominiums are also eligible for 5 years.
On the other hand, companies that invest US$ 500,000 in an urban area condominium are eligible for a 05-year long-term visa scheme while companies that invest US$ 500,000 in a suburban area condominium are also eligible for a 05-year long-term visa scheme.
At present, Sri Lanka has around 30,000 apartment blocks including private apartments, Government servants’ housing schemes, etc. Around 7,750 apartment units are managed by 968 condominium Management Corporations registered under the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA).
Furthermore, the number of apartment units completed by the BOI is approximately 5,000 ranging from low-cost units to semi Luxury to super luxury.
It is also noteworthy that apart from the local investors, several countries have also shown interest in investing in the development of condominium projects and real estate developments in Sri Lanka. Besides, the majority of condominium buyers were Sri Lankan residents while there is a present trend of purchase of condominium units by dual citizens and foreigners.
In conclusion, the BOI hopes the new system will curb inconveniences the investors/enterprises face and further strengthen the digital transformation of work with the respective line agencies and ministries.
Global Ceylon SeaFoods (Pvt) Ltd., leading seafood exporting company in Sri Lanka inked an agreement with the Board of Investment (BOI) to set up a sea cage farming project for the export market in Trincomalee, for an investment of USD 7.5 Mn.
The agreement in this regard was signed in the presence of Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugama, BOI Chairman Raja Edirisuriya, Director General Renuka M Weerakone and Global Ceylon SeaFoods Director Per Marius Arntsen at the newly unveiled Investor Facilitation Centre (IFC) on Friday (28).
Speaking at the occasion, State Minister Amunugama said,” This marks the first agreement to be signed at the IFC, which was set up to expedite and streamline investment approval process while strengthening the coordination with respective line ministries,”
The newly signed project is to generate nearly 100 employment opportunities.
Global Sea Foods (Pvt) Ltd, known simply as GSF is a leading seafood processing company based in Sri Lanka. The company is a BOI approved venture established in 1999, that supplies the high quality Value Added Sea Food products to destinations such as Europe, USA, Middle East and Japan to name a few. GSF can be identified as a significant source of foreign exchange income earner in Sri Lanka.
Hon. Dilum Amunugama, State Minister of Investment Promotion recently joined an observation tour of Bogambara prison in Kandy and in the future, in order to attract more tourists to the city of Kandy, it is planned to establish Kandy Fort centering Bogambara prison-like Galle Fort and Jaffna Fort. This land is spread over 11 acres and an international information center, a public park, an open-air theater presenting the cultural events unique to upcountry, a hotel complex so as to preserve the antiquity, and recreation centers are to be established in this area. Further, a programed for the modernization of special prison cells is to be implemented.
