Sri Lanka should use its unique location to woo more foreign investors, said Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.
He said that Sri Lanka cannot survive and economically prospers only through exports and FDI too was a must.
Speaking at the National Business Excellence Awards conducted by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) he said that for this Sri Lanka could also use its excellent foreign relations towards this end.
The fact that Sri Lanka is included in China’s Silk Route as a ‘station’ on China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, has given another plus point for Chinese and Indian companies to look at investing in Sri Lanka.
“Sri Lanka could get US$ 8 billion investment from China and Chinese companies were eyeing Hambantota Port and a part of land in Hambantota for future projects,” he said.
In addition economic zones proposed for several areas would also bring in investments from Japan, Singapore India and Europe.He said that the government was doing their part and creating a conducive environment in this regard.
“The government is identifying and correcting series of issues such as high inflation, breaching the budget deficit and the overvalued foreign exchange rate.The Governor said the fiscal sector showed an improved performance during the first nine months of 2016.
Most importantly through the single window the Board of Investment will minimize red tape for investments, he said.
The Governor also said that the single window concept for the Customs will also bring in multiple benefits for trade felicitation.
He also said that a quarterly report similar to a mini budget will be presented to parliament every three months which would be very meaningful.
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