US businesses to expand investments in Sri Lanka: FinMin

The American Chamber of Commerce has agreed to further expand investment in Sri Lanka due to the country’s economic transparency, a Finance Ministry statement said yesterday, quoting Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake. 
Karunanayake was given an opportunity to address the American Chamber of Commerce during his visit to Washington D.C. to take part in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) semi-annual conference. 
“An opportunity to address the American Chamber of Commerce is a privilege for Sri Lanka and such an opportunity will pave the way to attract more investments to the country,” Karunanayake was quoted as saying in the statement.   
According to the Finance Ministry statement, Karunanayake had conveyed to the American Chamber of Commerce about the available potential business opportunities in the sectors of infrastructure development, agro processing, health, export-based manufacturing and tourism.

Sri Lanka has become the gateway to Asia due to its business-friendly policies,” Karunanayake was quoted as saying.   The United States remains Sri Lanka’s largest export market with the latest bilateral trade value between the two countries reaching almost US $ 3 billion. At the same time, 28 percent of Sri Lanka’s exports in 2016 were absorbed by the United States. 
A previous Finance Ministry communiqué stated quoting Karunanayake that Sri Lanka’s economic performance was hailed by the IMF and WB during the semi-annual conference.
The minister was said to have held separate discussions with the participating heads of the IMF and WB during the conference. 
Karunanayake returned to Sri Lanka Sunday afternoon.