Sri Lanka to change regulations to woo foreign investment

Sri Lanka will reform regulations to attract more investment to tackle growing debt and target economic growth, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday.

Both 2018 and 2019 would be crucial years for Sri Lanka because of high debt repayments, Xinhua news agency quoted Wickremesinghe as saying here.

"We are on the right track. We have strengthened the external situation of our country to better face global market vulnerability. We are creating a series of measures to attract non-debt creating inflows, particularly for exports and Foreign Direct Investment," he told a capital market forum.

The government is planning to introduce new regulations to improve macroeconomic management, deal with debt and reduce red tape for improved foreign investment.

One key foreign exchange inflow would be the $1.1 billion received from a joint venture with a Chinese company for a port in the southern part of Sri Lanka.

An additional $600 million would be invested by China Merchant Holdings to further develop the port.

--IANS

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