Record FDI inflow in 2011 defeats ‘doomsday pundits’: Yapa

The achievement of record US$ 1 billion worth of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in 2011 has defaced critics and doomsday pundits in the Opposition, the Government said.

“Despite negative predictions made by ‘doomsday pundits’ in the Opposition saying that the economy will collapse and several thousands in the private sector will face retrenchment, Sri Lanka’s FDIs doubled last year,” Cabinet Spokesman Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said last week  

He said that FDIs in 2011 amounted to $ 1.06 billion, up from $ 516 million in the previous year.

Employment in the Investment Zones had increased by 5.8 % last year compared to the figures of 2010. Abeywardena said 426,084 persons were employed in the investment zones in the year 2010 and this number was increased to 450,913 in 2011, including persons re-employed by new companies. In the apparel sector alone jobs have increased by 24,826, he added.

The Cabinet Spokesman also said that exports of BOI-approved enterprises had increased by 27% to $ 6.57 billion, with textile wear, apparel and leather sector accounting for 67% followed by chemicals, petroleum, coal rubber and plastic products (20%).