BOI signs Rs.24.6bn worth investment agreements in first five months

24 June 2015 02:55 am

Sri Lanka’ apex investment promotion body, Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday said it signed investment agreements amounting to estimated Rs.24.6 billion during the first five months of the year.

Of the total amount, estimated value of the foreign investments amounted to Rs.6, 849 million (US $ 51 million) while local investments amounted to Rs.17, 734 million. 

The investments were mainly into 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.  

The new agreements “reflect the growing diversification of Sri Lanka’s economic base and exports,” BOI stated. 

Of the agreements signed, 36 were new agreements and 6 were expansions of existing projects, BOI said. 

The highest value of agreements for new projects was in the service sector totaling Rs.6, 715 million (25.11 percent ) followed by tourism and leisure Rs.4,772 million (19.41 percent), Utilities Rs.3,680 million (15 percent ) and Agriculture Rs.3,282 million (13.36 percent). 

Investments by way of expansions during the five-month period were mainly in the manufacturing sector amounting to Rs.708 million, followed by Rs.392 million for infrastructure and Rs.198 million for apparel. 

The BOI said an estimated 5, 141 employment opportunities are to be created by the projects signed during the period. 

Of these 2,320 are to be created in the apparel sector, 758 in tourism and Leisure sector, 534 in infrastructure and 369 in knowledge services.
The BOI noted that indirect employment opportunities would be three-fold of the direct employment opportunities.