BOI and Surbana Jurong team up for FDI

Thursday, 14 July 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ahead of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tour to Singapore, Cabinet has given approval for the Board of Investment (BOI) to establish a consultancy company with Surbana Jurong, which is also drawing up the master plan for the Megapolis project.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to be signed between the BOI and Surbana Jurong with the aim of eventually establishing a joint venture company.

“The business and shareholding structure, composition of the board and scope of business will be decided in due course,” said the Cabinet paper submitted by Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama.

“Sri Lanka needs to offer multifaceted professional services and formulate structured projects where investors can start work immediately have been identified. Further, there is a large pool of Sri Lankan professionals to gain opportunities in this sphere. In this context a consultancy firm would leverage maximum benefits for Sri Lanka,” the paper added.

Surbana Jurong, which is partly-owned by the Singapore Government under Temasek Holdings, was originally a housing company. It was corporatized in 2003 as a consultancy business offering full-service building consultancy solutions, with Jurong International.

When the current Government came to power in 2015, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe invited Surbana Jurong to upgrade the Megapolis Master Plan. They have also signed an MoU to draw up a development plan for Trincomalee.

Wickremesinghe is also expected to begin talks with the Singapore Government on a fast-tracked Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during his tour next month.