(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – The Malaysian government and the private sector are exploring avenues to bring in nearly US$ 300 million foreign direct investment (FDI) into Sri Lanka, the Malaysian envoy says.
Malaysian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah says the High Commission is working on getting US $ 200-300 million FDI to Sri Lanka on theme parks and other leisure sectors and in power sector over the next few years.
“We are encouraging Malaysian companies to engage in projects in Sri Lanka such as power plant construction and we are targeting US $ 200-300 million FDI to Sri Lanka over the next few years,” the envoy said addressing the media yesterday at the High Commission.
He said the amount of investment is only a fraction of Malaysia’s total FDI outflow of about US$ 15 billion.
The High Commissioner said the Malaysian investors are waiting for government approval to invest about US$ 100 million in a theme park. He said the discussions with the government are undergoing now about the projects in the leisure sector.
The envoy added that the Malaysian investors are also interested in investing in oil, gas and energy sectors in Sri Lanka and also looking at the Hambanthota development zone for investment opportunities.
The envoy said they are also looking to invest in the agriculture sector such as vegetable production and fisheries.
“Other areas we are looking at are telecommunication, construction, infrastructure, education and tourism and also healthcare,” he said.
“We are working closely with the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce and the exports are growing between the two countries and we are planning to open another 2,000 job opportunities to Sri Lankan workers this year in addition to the 6,000 Sri Lankan workforce in Malaysia,” he said.
The Malaysian High Commissioner emphasized that bilateral relations between Malaysia and Sri Lanka are cordial and friendly and the relations will be further strengthened with the visit of Malaysian Prime Minister to Sri Lanka towards the end of this year.
