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Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugama opens the BOI’s one-stop Investor Facilitation Centre as BOI Chairman Raja Edirisuriya and Director General Renuka M. Weerakone looks on – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara
The Board of Investment (BOI) yesterday announced plans to make significant changes to its operational structure to enhance Sri Lanka’s attractiveness as a top investment destination by 2026.
“It is critical for Sri Lanka to facilitate a flawless experience for the investors from the time of business registration and throughout their journey.
Thus, the establishment of the Investor Facilitation Centre (IFC) is a great stepping-stone to improve our rank in the World Bank’s Doing Business Index,” said Investment Promotion State Minister Dilum Amunugama at the opening of the new dedicated facility on the 27th floor at the West Tower of the World Trade Centre yesterday.
As per the World Bank’s rating of Ease of Doing Business 2020, Sri Lanka was ranked 99 among 190 economies in ease of doing business.
Noting that the unnecessary delays in granting approvals and transaction costs were major obstacles to attracting and retaining FDIs, he said the IFC in coordination with the line agencies will set a new benchmark for efficient business experience in Sri Lanka.
State Minister Amunugama also said the IFC was a policy priority of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Investment Promotion Minister.
“The time taken to grant such approvals depends on the process and procedures followed by each line agency. Also, it has been identified that poor intra-agency coordination has resulted in an inefficient investment approval process with undue delays. Thus, the IFC will address the unnecessary delays faced by investors and thereby, sustain their confidence,” the State Minister added.
BOI Chairman Raja Edirisuriya said the goal is to increase the foreign direct investments share to the GDP by 2.6% over the next four years.
“We want to be a target oriented institution that aims to create critical economic change,” he stressed.
He asserted that the 15 Export Processing Zones under the purview of the BOI has around 1,500 enterprises accounting to over 60% of the total exports, employing over 500,000 people and contributing 18% to the national economy.
Edirisuriya called on the line agencies to support BOI projects, citing that the delay to act will have detrimental effects on the economy.
“Intra-agencies are critical to getting approval for BOI projects. Before we set up IFC, it took 170 days or six months to get a project approved. We hope with the implementation of the IFC, we will be able to fast-track it to 14-days. There is fierce competition for FDIs. Failure to seize these opportunities will adversely impact the entire economy,” he explained.
Edirisuriya believes the IFC will be a great enabler that provides investors with a fruitful and productive service.
“As the apex organisation for promoting and attracting FDI, the BOI is always concerned about the convenience of the valued investors who seek to embark on an investment journey with the BOI. Having realised the need for an investor to feel comfortable and be able to do all the transactions in one location, a dedicated space was established to offer a one-stop-shop experience for investors,” he added.
IFC will provide an efficient and seamless service to investors, whilst streamlining the investment approval process and improving interagency coordination. The facility will offer a one-stop-shop experience for investors. The IFC structure consists of four units, which include; Information Desk, Application Submission Desk, Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee (IACC), and Operational Units (OUS- Investment Inter-Agency Engineering Approvals, Environment, and Legal Departments).
BOI Director General Renuka M. Weerakone said the process is not only meant for submitting the application and getting the approval but also translates into inter-agency coordination liaising with representatives of senior officials of any agencies that are required to be part of the approval process.
“The time-consuming factor of approvals was what compelled them to establish the IFC, as the BOI always aims to streamline the business process for a seamless investor experience. We hope the investors visit the IFC so as to get an idea of what BOI is offering and how we can assist the investors throughout their journey with the BOI in Sri Lanka,” she added.
IFC has been set up in a well-organised manner making things comfortable and convenient for investors while it provides them with essentials such as meeting online rooms, information, and application submission desks with a modern business facilitation centre.
It also has a system to assess the performance to compare the efficiency of the process in obtaining line agency approvals while it has a mechanism to receive feedback from investors on the service provided.
Moreover, the IFC is a part of the digitisation process of BOI where all information on potential investors will be digitally stored in the management information system. Furthermore, since all relevant information on potential investors is stored in the information system, the IFC has been merged with the newly established ‘Partnership Finder’ database system so that investors can find new equity and technology partners for their business.
