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Monday September 25th, 2023

Sri Lanka’s BOI says rail deal rejected on weak information and tax-holiday demands

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Board of Investments said it has rejected an investment proposal for a high-speed railway project because the investor had asked for tax holidays and large swathes of land but failed to provide financial and technical credentials and past project reports.

Ceylon High Speed Railway Corporation had proposed to invest 500 million US dollars in the railway project, and requested 4,000 acres of land and sought approvals for a private bank and a university," the BOI said.

The investor had also proposed to fill-up 600 acres of marshland at Muthurajawela, a protected reserve.

"Their failure to provide details such as proof of their past experiences in building such projects, their financial credentials and technical know-how made it impossible for BOI to approve a project that required handing over thousands of acres of state lands with no proof that it could be finalized," the BOI said in a statement.

"This information is what is normally requested from investors who apply to start projects," it said.

The investor was required to provide these documents to the BOI to obtain the clearance of the Single Window Investment Approval Committee (SWIAC) which was set up by the state to approve large investments.

"They also wanted to build super luxury hotels with liquor licenses in each of their industrial zones to be set up," the BOI said.

"The company in question also requested tax holidays which could not be accommodated under the present laws," it said.

There had been media reports alleging corruption in not approving the deal. (COLOMBO, 26 September 2018)

 

 

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Sri Lanka sells 2028 bonds at 14.52-pct

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka sold all offered bonds in 2026 and 2028 maturities raising 220 billion rupees from an auction Monday, data from the state debt office showed.

The debt office sold 135 billion rupees of 1 June 2026 bonds to yield 15.64 percent.

Another 85 billion rupees in 01 July 2028 bonds were sold to yield 14.52 percent.

The 2028 bond is offered on tap at the weighted average yield. (Colombo/Sept25/2023)

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Sri Lanka’s stocks end down on Monday after slow day of trading

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka shares were down at close of trading on Monday.

Turnover was 550 million rupees.

The main All Share Price Index was down 0.36 percent or 40.02 points to 11,216.50, while the S&P SL20 was down 0.44 percent or 14.07 points to 3,164.52.

Trading in the Capital Goods Industry (174,037,134) drove turnover.

Commercial Bank, Expolanka Holdings, and Aitken Spence plc saw losses, while National Development Bank, John Keells Holdings and Melstacorp saw gains in the day’s trading.

The market saw a net foreign inflow of 13 million rupees, while the yearly net foreign inflow was 429 million rupees. (Colombo/Sep25/2023)

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Sri Lanka rupee closes at 324.75/324.90 to the US dollar

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 324.75/90 to the US dollar on Monday, from Friday’s close at 324.70/325.00 dealers said.

Bond yields were up.

A bond maturing on 01.07.2025 closed up at 15.55/15.70 percent on Monday, after closing at 14.95/15.30 percent on Friday.

A bond maturing on 01.08.2026 closed up at 15.50/15.65 percent up from 14.95/15.10 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.09.2027 closed up at 14.75/15.50 percent from 14.55/15.00 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.05.2028 closed up at 14.25/14.60 from 14.00/14.30 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.05.2030 closed stable at 13.00/13.50.

A bond maturing on 01.07.2032 closed at 12.95/13.45 percent from 13.00/13.45 percent. (Colombo/Sept25/2023)

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