Foreign investment to Sri Lanka exceeds 1 bln USD

Foreign investments to Sri Lanka have surpassed one billion US dollar mark in the first nine months of 2014 amidst inflows to the country's booming tourism industry, an official said on Tuesday. Sri Lanka's government has targeted 2 billion US dollars in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the past two years but failed to achieve the goal. Despite the end of a three-decade war in 2009, the South Asian Island has lagged behind in attracting FDI. Up to Sept. 15 the island had gathered 1,064 million US dollars in FDI, mostly for the tourism sector. The latest number is a 22 per cent jump from 870 million US dollars recorded during the same period last year. In 2013, Sri Lanka attracted 1.39 billion US dollars in FDI, which is a 4 per cent increase over the 1.33 billion US dollars in 2012. However, Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana remained upbeat, telling reporters post-war Sri Lanka remains attractive for foreign investors judging by this year's inflows so far, according to shanghaidaily.com