Business

Attracting foreign real estate investments amidst the economic turbulence in Sri Lanka

Published

4 years ago

2022/05/20

By Rohan Parikh

From the COVID-19 pandemic to its current economic turbulence, Sri Lanka has tackled many challenges thrown at them with resilience. Today however, Sri Lanka is under tremendous unrest and pressure and faces a challenging macroeconomic situation today. There are a bunch of contradicting factors that need to be mitigated – and this will require some difficult decisions. One of the things that can change the fortunes of Sri Lanka is foreign investments.

The role of foreign real estate investment

By its nature, the construction industry opens many opportunities for a foreign investor to consider a country as the ideal spot for their investment. Real estate is an infrastructure asset that adds to the wealth and asset base of the nation. It enables the creation of a stable middle class and secure working class.

Nearly 3/4th of construction sites in Sri Lanka are currently halted due to varying reasons: ever-rising cost of raw materials, unavailability of essential goods due to import restrictions, ongoing forex crisis and more. This has dealt a massive blow to the labour market as construction sites employ large numbers of labourers. It has also impacted many local suppliers of the hundreds of items needed for construction from doors, windows, steel, locks, tiles, glass, wood, and more. Thus it is critical to get the real estate industry moving again. To achieve this, it will be critical to make Sri Lanka an attractive destination for foreign investment.

Tools of change that the leaders of the nation have in their belt

Financial incentives:

Now, more than ever, it is critical that foreign investment in real estate be tax exempt. This exemption was mistakenly removed several years ago, at a time when taxes on domestic industries were disastrously slashed. The lack of tax benefits to foreign investors led to a slowdown in future projects funded by foreign exchange and impacted forex inflows.

Simultaneously, the tax cut on local companies led to a draining of the state budget. It left the country extremely vulnerable to a shock like COVID. Today, we hope that strong financial incentives are put in place to attract foreign investors back to Lanka. Without these, markets like India, Pakistan, Thailand, and Dubai will always seem like better avenues for investment.

Policy clarity:

It is important for foreign investors to perceive the country as having a stable regulatory environment. The period from 2016 to 2018 saw a lot of sudden changes in policy and processes that resulted in a great amount of uncertainty and trepidation amongst foreign investors. This needs to be avoided during any change of administration as it does long term damage to the country’s reputation amongst investors. Just as an example, the rule on VAT and NBT was changed 3 times in the space of a year during that period.

Protection of investors: A foreign investor must be made to feel welcome and safe. Despite the efforts of an overwhelming majority of forward thinking leaders and bureaucrats, a small minority can do a lot of damage.

In my own case, we were hounded and harassed by some politicians without cause, and were slandered in an extremely unfair and untrue attack by local media. We were attacked for being a foreign company and we lost a lot of business due to this slander. This frightened our staff and made many of our investors decide not to invest in Sri Lanka again. In the same breath, I am also happy to report that in the end, the legal system in Sri Lanka came to our rescue and the courts passed an order protecting us. We survived, shaken but still resolute in our commitment to Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, not all foreign investors have that kind of resolve, especially when there are other markets that offer more welcoming access. The need here is to empower the Board of Investment with real powers to tackle such roadblocks and to protect foreign investors.

I have been investing in Sri Lanka for over 15 years now. We were the first company to invest in Sri Lanka once the war ended. I have seen the resolve and strength of the nation and I am confident that this crisis will pass. I hope that we are able to learn from the crisis and come back better and stronger.

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Business

HNB Finance strengthens Board with four independent directors

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/13

Thilina Walpola

Newly appointed HNB FINANCE PLC Independent Non- Executive Directors (from left): Renuke Wijayawardhane, Shanti Gnanapragasam, Nabiha Mohamed and Dr. Thisuri Wanniarachchi

HNB FINANCE PLC has strengthened its Board with the appointment of four Independent Non-Executive Directors, effective September 8, 2026.

The new directors are Renuke Wijayawardhane, Shanti Gnanapragasam, Nabiha Mohamed and Dr. Thisuri Wanniarachchi, who collectively bring extensive experience in financial regulation, banking, risk management, corporate finance, investment strategy, development finance and public policy.

Wijayawardhane, an Attorney-at-Law and capital market professional, retired in July 2025 as Chief Regulatory Officer of the Colombo Stock Exchange after more than 31 years with the Exchange. His experience covers securities regulation, corporate governance, market infrastructure and compliance.

Gnanapragasam has over four decades of banking experience spanning treasury, risk management, credit and trade finance. She currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Cargills Bank, Wealth Trust and Vision Fund Lanka.

Mohamed is a corporate finance and investment professional who previously served as Lead Transaction Advisor at the State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit of the Ministry of Finance, where she led five divestiture transactions worth over US$600 million.

Dr. Wanniarachchi brings over a decade of experience in development finance, institutional reform and social protection, including work with the World Bank and the Government of Sri Lanka.

Business

Prime Residencies hands over The Palace Gampaha

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/13

Thilina Walpola

Prime Group Chairman Premalal Brahmanage speaking at the event

Prime Lands Residencies PLC has completed and officially handed over The Palace Gampaha, described as the largest planned gated residential community in Gampaha, to its homeowners.

The development, which commenced construction in 2021, is located two kilometres from Gampaha town and 100 metres from the Colombo-Kandy main road.

Spread across 13.5 acres, The Palace Gampaha comprises 480 two- and three-bedroom apartments in a ground-plus-three-floor development, with prices starting from Rs. 27.5 million.

The project allocates about 80% of its land to landscaped areas and common facilities, while the remaining 20% is used for apartment development. Facilities include a swimming pool, gymnasium, clubhouse, library, community kitchen, laundry, mini-mart and a daycare centre managed by the Lyceum Group.

The fully gated community also incorporates solar power for common areas, underground electricity cabling and a sewage treatment plant with water recycling facilities.

Prime Residencies said all statutory approvals required for the handover had been secured, including certifications from the Condominium Management Authority and registration of the Condominium Plan and Deed of Declaration.

Prime Group Chairman Premalal Brahmanage said the project reflected the company’s vision of creating large-scale residential communities designed to enhance the quality of life of Sri Lankan families.

The project is the latest addition to Prime Group’s portfolio of more than 70 gated community and apartment developments.

Business

SLANA warns NVOCC business losing ground amid THC concerns

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/13

Thilina Walpola

SLANA Chairperson Swabha Wickramasinghe presenting a memento to Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Anura Karunathilaka at the eventually

Sri Lanka’s Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) sector is losing ground despite the expansion of the industry in several regional markets, Sri Lanka Association of NVOCC Agents (SLANA) Chairperson Swabha Wickramasinghe said.

Wickramasinghe, re-elected for a third consecutive term at SLANA’s ninth Annual General Meeting last week said the continued difficulty in collecting Colombo Terminal Handling Charges (THC) as a separate land-based cost was among the key challenges facing the industry.

She said the practice placed Sri Lanka at a competitive disadvantage as principals consider the overall economics of operating through Colombo.

“When Sri Lanka becomes less commercially attractive compared with other regional destinations, the consequences eventually reach our members,” she said.

Wickramasinghe said a committee had been proposed at a recent meeting with the Minister and Deputy Minister to evaluate the THC issue, urging the authorities to expedite its appointment and review.

She also called for an early solution to the problem of uncleared salt containers at the Port of Colombo, which has resulted in delays in releasing empty containers.

With more than 75 NVOCC lines operating in Sri Lanka, she stressed the sector’s importance to regional trade, particularly links with India and China.

Ports Minister Anura Karunathilaka said Sri Lanka should expand regional business while exploring areas such as bunkering, freight forwarding and e-commerce logistics.