Investor Services

The Investor Services Department of the BOI is responsible for permitting Imports and Exports of projects as well as providing other investor related services.

The services Offered by the Investor Services Department are:

• Processing of Import / Export Documents

• Examination of Cargo, Imported and Exported

• Issue of Certificates of Origin for Apparel and Textile products

• Approval for Subcontracts, Transfers, Loans of raw material

• Re-Import and Re-Export of Items

• Recommendations to the controller of immigration for issue of expatriate visas with the approval of Ministry of Public Security, Law & Order

• Other Investor related approvals

Investor Services Centres located at;

• The Colombo Office at No.14, Sir Baron Jayathilake Mw, Colombo 01

• Export Processing Zone Katunayake

• Export Processing Zone Biyagama

• Export Processing Zone Koggala

• Kandy Industrial Park – Pallekale

After signing the agreement with the BOI, to obtain services from one of these centres, the investor should first register with the respective Investor Service Centre.

Banking and Finance

The banking sector is one of the most dynamic and vibrant sectors of the economy, with many developments taking place  in terms of institutions, instruments, range of services and the geographic coverage. Financial sector reforms have been introduced to improve the efficiency and stability of the financial sector and further reforms are under way.

The following types of financial institutions are in operation in Sri Lanka:

Commercial Banks, Development and financial institutions, Merchant/ Investment banks, Finance companies, Leasing Companies, Mortgage banks, Venture Capital Companies, Savings Bank, Pension funds

The Central Bank is the apex institution in the financial system of Sri Lanka. At present there are 26 commercial banks in operation in the country. 10 of these are locally incorporated and the balance are branches of foreign banks. Two of the local commercial banks are state owned.

Rapid technological advancement including an automated check clearing house that clears checks from most part of the country within three days, ATMs, credit cards, electronic funds transfer facilities and several financial derivatives are available.  Several banks have introduced tele-banking and electronic business banking and many have extended banking hours with some services being made available 24 hours a day through automation. The banking system is also linked closely to the worldwide networks via SWIFT and credit card gateways.