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Sulaiman Nishtar PIC BY PRADEEP PATHIRANA
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As Sri Lanka stands at a critical juncture in its economic development, after facing what was the worst crisis in history, the first half of 2025 (1H25) would be a critical period for the island nation, a tax expert said.
This is particularly to focus on building the necessary infrastructure needed to incentivise the industries that are capable of leveraging the ongoing geopolitical shifts in global trade and investment.
“We are in perfect timing in terms of geopolitical shifts, where industries are diversifying supply chain and sources. This is an opportune time to look attractive and put our value proposition,” said Ernst & Young Partner Tax Sulaiman Nishtar.
“These six months will be critical in terms of what we need to attract and what we need to invest. We need to build more public-private partnerships. Setting up of zones is also another initiative,” he added.
He shared his views while addressing a panel discussion at a forum hosted by AmCham Sri Lanka yesterday.
To push this effort, Sri Lanka already has what the tax expert called a “powerful legislation”, the Economic Transformation Act (ETA).
The ETA aims to transform the Board of Investment (BOI) into three distinct bodies: the Economic Commission, Invest Sri Lanka and Zones SL.
The key parts of the act, which includes restructuring of the BOI, were only set into operation within three months from the date of certification of the act by the Speaker. However, there is no order published in the government gazette so far.
The ETA, which was backed by the International Monetary Fund, was opposed by the BOI employees, a number of investors and a considerable number of legal experts.
“The Economic Commission has more power than the BOI. If this new structure can steer the next phase and leverage the changes in geopolitics, I think Sri Lanka will be good to go,” Nishtar said. (NR)