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Investment promotion: Golden Paradise yet to take off

31 Jul 2022

By Asiri Fernando  The Golden Paradise visa scheme which was aimed at drawing investors to Sri Lanka is facing delays due to the slow pace of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the Treasury to establish relevant special accounts required for prospective investors to move funds to Sri Lanka, The Sunday Morning learns. Last month, then Minister of Investment Promotion Dhammika Perera acknowledged that there were some delays in implementing the process and called for its immediate implementation as the programme would bring in foreign exchange as well as foreign investments to the country.  Sources at the Board of Investment (BOI), speaking on terms of anonymity, said that the operational mechanisms of the scheme, which involves special foreign currency accounts, are still being established by the CBSL and the Treasury.  “They are looking at the operational side. The Central Bank and the Finance Ministry are working to create special accounts for applicants. That part is still being worked out. They have done most of the work and the programme should be launched soon,” the source said. However, Treasury Deputy Secretary R.M.P. Rathnayake, responding to a question regarding the visa scheme and its progress, stated that the responsibility of the scheme did not come under the Finance Ministry’s purview and that it was not involved in the approval process. It is understood that a number of applicants have registered for the visa, with many applicants having submitted applications online. When reached, Acting Controller General of Immigration and Emigration Bandula Harischandra confirmed that applicants had begun to register for the visa scheme.  However, Harischandra declined to comment further, stating that he did not have the relevant details at hand to give an informed response to The Sunday Morning query. Attempts to contact Government Spokesman Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena on this issue failed.   


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