Cabinet nod to amalgamate BOI and EDB to form new export and investment promotion agency

The Cabinet nod has been granted to appoint a supervisory committee to facilitate the establishment of the proposed agency for export and investment promotion amalgamating Board of Investments (BOI) and Export Development Board (EDB). 

President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday sought the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to appoint a supervisory committee to manage and guide the activities for the establishment of the proposed agency for export and investment promotion.
It was proposed in the budget 2023 to form an agency amalgamating the operations of the BOI and the EDB to promote export and investments with an integrated approach in a logical manner.

The Cabinet Spokesperson and Minister of Transport and Highways and Minister of Mass Media Bandula Gunawardana pointed out that both EDB and BOI have failed to achieve their objectives when compared to their counterparts in countries such as Vietnam and India.
“Although, the two entities have been in operation for decades, our exports and FDI inflows have not increased significantly on par with countries such as Vietnam and India. Therefore, we cannot be satisfied with the performance of these two agencies,” he said.