President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has refused to accept the resignations of the Chairman and Board members of the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka, who had tendered their resignations last week. 

In a letter addressed individually to the Chairman and respective Board members, the Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundera has further stated that the President wishes for them to continue services, as he has highest confidence in them, as they contribute effectively to promote foreign investments to the best interest of the country and help the post COVID economic transformation.

The statement issued by the BOI added:

“As of November 2021, the BOI has signed USD 2bn worth of investment approvals. During the first half of 2021 alone, USD 760mn has been invested in Sri Lanka, of which USD 400mn is FDI, in contrast to pre-pandemic 2019, where 113 new projects were approved and added to the pipeline, to the value of USD 1.1Bn, of which, the foreign component value was USD 400mn. 

“In 2020, despite the pandemic and slow down in investment decisions, 128 projects were approved with a value of USD 2.2Bn, of which, the foreign investment component was USD 1.6Bn. in 2021, 117 new projects were approved to the value of USD 2Bn, of which USD 980mn is the foreign investment component. 

“Through this, the overall investment pipeline has exceeded 2019 values, despite the pandemic continuing through 2020 and 2021. Added to this, the year-to-date export value for BOI companies has also surpassed 2019 pre-pandemic levels.”