BOI says approvals up 100%, agreements signed by 25% in 1Q

The Board of Investment (BOI) in a statement yesterday said in the first quarter of 2012 the BOI received 72 new applications compared to the 28 received in the corresponding period of the previous year.  There were also five applications for expansions of existing projects.

In the first quarter of 2012, the BOI granted approvals for 54 projects against 27 in the first quarter of 2011. This was a 100% increase over the previous year. The estimated investment of those approved projects was Rs. 96,317 million of which a total of Rs. 49, 169 million is expected as foreign investment and the balance Rs. 47, 148 million as domestic investments. These approved projects would create 9,500 new employment opportunities.

In terms of Agreements signed, the BOI signed 40 project agreements in the first quarter of 2012 and this includes 33 new enterprises and 7 project expansions. This was a 25% increase from the 32 agreements signed in the corresponding period in 2011.

In the period under review 23 projects started project implementation, all of which were new projects. It’s a 64% increase compared with the new projects starting implementation in the first quarter of 2011. The estimated value of the investment from companies that commenced implementation is Rs. 75,273 million. They will create 2,946 employment opportunities.

In the period under review 18 enterprises commenced commercial operation against 20 in the corresponding period in 2011. The estimated investment value of these 18 enterprises is Rs. 7,198 million compared to 3,089 in first quarter 2011. These enterprises are expected to create over 5,000 employment opportunities.

The total exports from the enterprises under BOI during the first quarter of 2012 amounts to Rs. 193 billion, a 7% increase over the corresponding period in 2011.

The total imports of BOI companies during the period under review amounts to Rs. 131 billion of which Rs. 93 billion consists of capital goods and Rs. 37 billion consists of raw material. The total imports by BOI companies shows a 22% increase compared to the previous year (i.e. Rs. 107 billion). In terms of Capital Goods, a 2.5 fold increase is evident.