Some 100 companies registered with the Board of Investment (BOI) have defaulted Rs.639 million to the government in terms of ground rentals, electricity and water bills for the past three years, parliamentary sources said yesterday. The matters pertaining to the BOI were taken up for debate at the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) in the parliamentary complex yesterday. An MP who attended the meeting told the Daily Mirror that the BOI was in a total mess with no corporate plan for the past three years. He said five free trade zones of 12 in the country were running at a loss. According to him, the Biyagama Free Trade Zone was running at a loss of Rs. 38 million, Mirigama at Rs. 10 million, Koggala Rs.35 million, Watupitiwala Rs.24 million and Horana Rs.10 million.

The COPE has decided to wrap up its proceedings before next week and present its report to Parliament exposing the financial situations in 249 state institutions. Already, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Mihin Lanka and the Ceylon Electricity Board had been identified as loss-making ventures.

He also said the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the country in the post war period had declined despite attempts by the government. In 2009, he said, there were FDIS running to the tune of US $ 580 million, but it had dropped to US $ 550 million this year and that included investments made by Cairns international installing infrastructure for offshore oil exploration.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka