This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 28 COLOMBO 001366 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/IFD/OIA AND SA/INS 
STATE PASS USTR 
STATE PASS OPIC, TDA, EXIM 
 
TREASURY FOR DO/GCHRISTOPOLUS 
 
USDOC FOR ITA/ATAYLOR 
 
E.O 12958:N/A 
TAGS: EINV EFIN ETRD ELAB KTDB PGOV ECON CE OPIC USTR ECONOMICS
SUBJECT: IMI - INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT, 2005 - SRI LANKA 
 
REF: (A) 04 STATE 269486 (B) 04 STATE 250356 
 
¶1.  THE FOLLOWING IS THE INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT 
FOR SRI LANKA FOR 2005. 
 
INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT SRI LANKA 
 
July 2005 
 
Openness to Foreign Investment 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  Sri Lanka welcomes foreign investment, which has 
become an important element of the country's economic 
growth.  Sri Lanka opened its economy to foreign 
investment in 1978, long before its South Asian 
neighbors, but results have been mixed due to half- 
hearted commitment to economic reforms and policy 
inconsistency through changes in successive governments. 
Over the past twenty-six years, several hundred foreign 
investors have invested in the country, but foreign 
investment flows have been weak in the last decade due 
to an ethnic conflict and the inconsistent and erratic 
economic policies mentioned above.  While the current 
ceasefire has led to improved investment flows in the 
recent past, the reversal of economic policies following 
the change of Government in 2004 has put a dampener on 
flows once more.  Although some investors have done 
well, particularly in the manufacturing and services 
sectors, others have had problems with government 
practices and regulations, particularly in large-scale 
infrastructure projects, and recently have experienced 
governmental delays in payment and other forms of 
governmental non-compliance with contracts. 
 
¶3.  Sri Lanka's economic growth over the past decade has 
been reasonable, averaging 4.6 percent.  The country 
boasts unique human development achievements for a 
developing country.  Sri Lanka's per capita income of 
$1,000, a literacy rate of over 90 percent in the local 
language, and life expectancy of 72 years rank well 
above those of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. 
 
¶4.  The 20-year ethnic conflict between the U.S. 
designated terrorist organization Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Ealam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) 
has been widely recognized as a key  impediment to 
development and as an obstacle to foreign investment.  A 
Norwegian-brokered ceasefire between the LTTE and the 
government, in effect since February 23, 2002, continues 
to hold despite the LTTE withdrawal from peace talks in 
April 2003 and recent assassinations of a journalist and 
a senior military intelligence officer, among others. 
While both parties have expressed their commitment to a 
negotiated settlement, efforts to restart peace talks 
have floundered so far.  However, it is important to 
differentiate between the currently suspended peace 
talks and the overall peace process, which continues. 
Although many ceasefire violations have been recorded, 
the peace process has substantially improved the 
political, economic and investment climate and initially 
resulted in attracting substantial funding from 
multilateral and bilateral donors to rebuild the 
country.  The stalemate, however, had led to concerns 
that donor money may be diverted to other countries. 
 
¶5.  The December 2004 tsunami caused extensive damage to 
life and property, affecting Sri Lanka's economic 
performance.  Approximately 31,000 people were killed, 
another 6,300 are missing, and 443,000 people have been 
displaced.  A joint damage and needs assessment by the 
key donor agencies estimated the overall damage to Sri 
Lanka at around $1 billion, with a large portion of 
losses concentrated in the housing, tourism, fisheries 
and transportation sectors.  Major export sectors were 
not affected.  Some of the destruction is in areas under 
LTTE control, which requires the Government to work with 
them to start reconstruction.  According to GSL 
assessments, Sri Lanka needs approximately $2 billion to 
implement a reconstruction program, estimated to take at 
least three years.  The donor assessment has estimated 
the recovery cost at $1.5 billion. 
 
¶6.  Since independence, the rule of government has 
alternated between the two major political parties, the 
United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom 
Party (SLFP), or coalitions led by them.  Both the UNP 
and the SLFP generally support open and outward looking 
economic policies.  However, some coalition partners 
have thwarted such policies, leading to a failure to 
embrace consistent economic reform policies.  This 
political complexity has sent confusing and inconsistent 
messages to investors and donors. 
 
¶7.  In February 2004, President Chandrika Kumaratunga 
dissolved Parliament, just two years into the rule of 
the reform-minded United National Front Government. 
Subsequent elections resulted in a resounding defeat for 
the UNP, largely because rural voters felt they had not 
tasted the benefits of the recently implemented economic 
reforms.  As no single party was expected to garner 
sufficient seats to form a government, the President's 
SLFP joined with the left leaning, nationalist Marxist 
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) to form the United 
People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket to run for the 
election.  The UPFA coalition remained intact until June 
2005, when the JVP quit the Government in protest of the 
Post-Tsunami Operational Mechanical Structure (P-TOMS), 
an aid-sharing deal between the Government and the LTTE. 
While the P-TOMS has opened the path for cooperation on 
reconstruction in the North and East, it has also left 
the government in a shaky minority.  The SLFP and 
opposition UNP back the new mechanism while the JVP and 
Buddhist monk-based Janatha Hela Urumaya (JHU) oppose it 
and have petitioned the constitutionality of P-TOMS to 
the Supreme Court.  On July 15, 2005, the Supreme Court 
ordered the suspension of four crucial clauses in the P- 
TOMS agreement until the conclusion of the case which 
should take place in September 2005.  The effects of the 
mechanism's actual implementation remain to be seen. 
 
¶8.  The UPFA government's Economic Policy Framework 
"Creating Our Future, Building Our Nation" 
(http://www.treasury.gov.lk) focused on developing the 
small and medium enterprise sector (SME), agriculture, 
and infrastructure, with a heavy reliance on government 
intervention in markets.  The Government has also 
abandoned plans to privatize "strategic" state 
enterprises, such as state-owned banks, airports, and 
electrical utilities.  Instead, it will retain ownership 
and management of these enterprises in an attempt to 
insulate them from political interference and make them 
profitable.  The government has created three new 
agencies to improve state owned enterprises: The 
Strategic Enterprises Management Agency (SEMA), the 
National Council for Economic Development (NCED) and the 
Procurement Management Agency. 
 
¶9.  Recent efforts to restructure large, inefficient 
public utilities have faced serious problems due to 
stiff opposition from the JVP and labor unions. 
Government shares in smaller non-strategic state 
enterprises such as hotels and small manufacturing 
companies, however, are due to be sold.  The recent JVP 
decision to leave the government may lead to a shift in 
some economic policies. 
 
¶10.  On a positive note, the government has acknowledged 
the vital role that both foreign and local private 
investors play in the economy.  The government has 
promised to encourage private investment by removing 
impediments and introducing investor-friendly practices. 
Paradoxically, they have also introduced prohibitive new 
taxes on the acquisition of land by foreigners (except 
foreign investors meeting certain criteria) along with 
other bureaucratic impediments to foreign investments. 
Further, import duties on a range of consumer goods and 
non-essential items have been increased.  A new 
"Economic Service Charge (ESC)" tax, ranging from 0.25 
percent to 1 percent depending on the type of business , 
applies to all companies with a turnover exceeding Rs 50 
million (USD 500,000), including  those currently 
benefiting from tax holidays.  Companies already paying 
income tax will be able to offset the new tax against 
their income taxes.  Nevertheless, for those companies, 
especially foreign investors which have tax holidays, it 
will be an extra financial burden. 
 
¶11.  The UPFA government has rejected the former 
government's poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) 
entitled "Regaining Sri Lanka," citing the UNP's failure 
to benefit poor and rural areas in its two years of 
rule.  The government is now in the process of revising 
the PRSP.  Pending clarifications on economic and fiscal 
policies and the draft of a revised PRSP, the IMF is 
withholding disbursements under a Poverty Reduction 
Growth Facility (PRGF) and Enhanced Fund Facility (EFF) 
extended to Sri Lanka in April 2003.  The government 
plans to resume discussions on PRGF/EEF supported 
programs once the new PRSP is finalized. 
 
¶12.  Throughout 2004, macro economic conditions 
deteriorated.  In the face of a drought and increasing 
oil prices, the government resorted to expansionary 
fiscal and monetary policies that helped maintain GDP 
growth at around 5 percent.  Consequently, inflation 
rose sharply and the fiscal situation deteriorated. 
There was a slowdown in aid and investment in-flows as 
well.  Due to a heavy oil import bill, the trade deficit 
expanded in 2004, despite strong export growth.   Gross 
official receipts fell by 13 percent to $1.8 billion. 
As a result, the Sri Lankan Rupee depreciated throughout 
2004, falling by 8 percent against the US Dollar.  The 
rupee strengthened in early 2005 because of speculation 
on aid flows for post-tsunami reconstruction.  Total 
reserves in January 2005 were approximately $3.3 
billion, sufficient to cover 4.9 months of imports.  Sri 
Lanka's total government debt rose to 108 percent of GDP 
in 2004, of which about half was foreign (mostly 
concessional) debt. 
 
¶13.  Towards the end of 2004, the government took steps 
to strengthen its macro- economic policy.  Petroleum 
prices were revised upwards, and a costly subsidy on 
wheat flour was removed.  But numerous subsidies, 
including those for petroleum and electricity, continue. 
The 2005 budget, presented in November 2004, envisaged a 
reduction in the fiscal deficit to 7.5 percent of GDP. 
The budget focused on reducing poverty through rural 
development and on higher spending for health, education 
and public infrastructure.   It also included 
significant increases in government employment and 
wages. The Government has hired about 42,000 recent 
university graduates as trainees in an effort to stem 
unemployment, expanding public sector employment by 4 
percent.   The budget also contains new revenue 
measures.  Before the budget was passed, the government 
increased selected import taxes.  Despite losses due to 
the tsunami, the Government has expressed a desire to 
maintain macroeconomic stability, pursue the reform 
agenda of the 2005 budget, and put fiscal reforms in 
line with the policy outlines of the Fiscal Management 
(Responsibility) Act, which has a deficit and debt 
reduction plan over the medium term. 
 
¶14.  Estimates vary about the tsunami's overall economic 
impact.  According to some estimates, GDP growth is 
predicted to fall from 6 percent to about 5 percent. 
The bulk of adverse impact on growth is expected to be 
offset by the reconstruction effort.  The Government is 
trying to minimize the fiscal impact of the 
reconstruction program by seeking foreign assistance. 
The impact on balance of payments could also be 
significant due to reconstruction related imports. 
Meanwhile, for the first time, the GSL has accepted a 
Paris Club offer by industrialized countries to freeze 
its debt payments until the end of 2005.  This will 
release approximately $300 million from the regular 
budget (currently allocated for debt repayment) for 
reconstruction.  In addition, the IMF has approved an 
emergency loan of about $159 million to Sri Lanka.  The 
World Bank and the ADB have also pledged both grant and 
loan assistance.  On balance, the level of fiscal and 
balance of payment impact of reconstruction will depend 
on the government's ability to mobilize external 
resources as well as the Sri Lankan economy's absorptive 
capacity.  The inflationary momentum of 2004 is expected 
to continue in 2005, with inflation projected to remain 
between 10 to 12 percent for most of the year.  The 
Central Bank has raised interest rates only marginally, 
despite rising inflation, in order to facilitate 
spending on reconstruction and provide liquidity for 
restarting economic activity. 
 
¶15.  There may be commercial opportunities for US 
companies in the post-tsunami reconstruction program. 
The bulk of the reconstruction expenditure will be spent 
on housing, transportation infrastructure (roads, 
railway and ports), fisheries infrastructure (harbors, 
anchorage and related facilities), water supply and 
sanitation projects, and school and hospital buildings. 
 
¶16.  Numerous risks and challenges to the economy 
remain.  The peace process could falter.  With the 
withdrawal of the JVP from the governing coalition, the 
government does not have a majority in Parliament and is 
vulnerable to being dismissed.  There are concerns 
regarding the speed of reconstruction and resettlement 
of the tsunami affected population.  Other down side 
risks will stem from uncertainties over oil prices and 
the impact of the end of the Multi Fiber Agreement, 
although large factories accounting for the bulk of the 
exports are expected to continue to perform well in the 
quota-free era.  Another major business concern in the 
medium term is the cost and availability of power.  Sri 
Lanka has faced episodic power shortages, with the most 
recent period extending from mid 2001 to early 2002. 
Although new power plants are being added, the 
government has yet to procure sufficient base load power 
to avert a power crisis in the medium term.  Despite the 
dire need for power, the JVP resists Government moves to 
restructure the state owned electrical utility board, 
thus reducing the possibility of solving power problems 
in the foreseeable future.  Increasing oil prices are 
also causing an already inefficient and money losing 
state-owned electrical company to face serious cash flow 
difficulties and to backtrack on power purchase 
agreements and contractual obligations.  Uncertainty 
over the future of the energy sector has led most 
businesses to install onsite generating capacity. 
 
 
--Board of Investment 
 
¶17.  The Board of Investment (BOI) (www.boi.lk), an 
autonomous statutory agency, is the primary government 
authority responsible for foreign investment.  The BOI 
acts as a facilitator for investment.  It is intended to 
provide "one-stop" service for foreign investors, with 
duties including approving projects, granting 
incentives, and arranging services such as water, power, 
waste treatment and telecommunications.  The BOI is best 
at assisting investors who want to establish operations 
within its industrial processing zones.  It also assists 
people in obtaining resident visas for expatriate 
personnel and facilitates import and export clearances. 
The BOI has undertaken a major review of its activities 
in order to improve its services.  The Bureau for 
Infrastructure Investment (BII) (www.boi.lk), a division 
of BOI, has responsibility for coordinating all private 
infrastructure projects.  Projects are usually 
structured on the basis of build, own, operate (BOO), 
build, operate, and transfer (BOT) or build, own, 
operate, and transfer (BOOT). 
--Laws Affecting Investment 
¶18.  The principal law governing foreign investment is 
Law No. 4  created in 1978 (known as the BOI Act), and 
now encompassing  amendments made in 1980, 1983 and 
1992,  along with implementation  regulations 
established under the Act.  The BOI Act provides for two 
types of investment approvals.  Under section 17 of the 
Act, the BOI is empowered to grant concessions (see 
details below) to companies satisfying certain 
eligibility criteria.  Investment approval under section 
16 of the act permits entry for foreign investment to 
operate under the "normal" laws of the country and 
applies to investments that do not satisfy eligibility 
criteria for BOI incentives.  Other laws affecting 
foreign investment are the Securities and Exchange 
Commission Act of 1987 as amended in 1991 and 2003, and 
the Takeovers and Mergers Code of 1995.  Various labor 
laws and regulations affect investors also.  See 
sections below. 
 
--Foreign Equity and Sectors 
 
 
¶19.  The government relaxed investment rules in early 
2002, allowing 100 percent foreign investment in the 
following services: banking, finance, insurance, stock- 
brokering, construction of residential buildings and 
roads, supply of water, mass transportation, 
telecommunications, production and distribution of 
energy, professional services, and the establishment of 
liaison offices or local branches of foreign companies. 
These services are regulated and subject to approval by 
various government agencies.  The screening mechanism is 
non-discriminatory and, for the most part, routine. 
 
¶20.  Investment in other sectors is restricted and 
subject to screening and approval on a case-by-case 
basis when foreign equity exceeds 49 percent. The 
affected sectors are: shipping and travel agencies; 
freight forwarding; fishing; timber-based industries; 
growing and primary processing of tea, rubber, coconut, 
rice, cocoa, sugar and spices; and, finally, the 
production for export of goods subject to international 
quota.  Foreign investment restrictions and government 
regulations also apply to international air transport; 
coastal shipping; lotteries; large-scale mechanized gem 
mining; and sensitive industries such as military 
hardware, dangerous drugs and currency. 
 
¶21.  Foreign investment is not permitted in the 
following businesses: non-bank money lending; pawn- 
brokering; retail trade with a capital investment of 
less than $1 million (with one notable exception: the 
BOI permits retail and wholesale trading by reputed 
international brand names and franchises with an initial 
investment of not less than US$150,000); coastal 
fishing; and the awarding of local university degrees. 
 
¶22.  Generally, the treatment given to foreign investors 
is non-discriminatory.  In fact, some local companies 
have complained that they are discriminated against, as 
qualifying foreign investors can benefit from a wide 
range of advantages.  Even with incentives and BOI 
facilitation, however, foreign investors can face 
difficulties operating here.  Problems range from the 
mundane but critical matter of clearing equipment and 
supplies through customs speedily, to obtaining a 
factory site.  The BOI encourages investors to locate 
their factories in industrial processing zones managed 
by the BOI to overcome land allocation problems. 
Investors locating in industrial zones also get access 
to relatively better infrastructure facilities such as 
reliable power, telecommunication and water supplies. 
--Privatization viewed with suspicion 
¶23.  Previous governments, including one headed by the 
SLFP, actively pursued privatization.  When the UPFA 
Government came to power in 2004, however, it pledged to 
halt the privatization process of strategic enterprises 
and to institute more effective government oversight. 
Still, smaller government corporations are to be 
privatized. 
 
¶24.  Government treatment of foreign investors in past 
privatization processes had been largely non- 
discriminatory.  In 2003, however, the previous 
government sold part of retail operations of state-owned 
Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to Indian Oil 
Corporation (IOC) without a formal tender process.  One 
US firm, which had earlier acquired a government owned 
lubricant plant and obtained exclusivity in the sale of 
lubricants in CPC outlets until mid-2004, has also 
complained that the government had reneged on the terms 
of the exclusivity agreement. 
 
¶25.  Labor unions in state-owned enterprises are often 
opposed to privatization and restructuring and seem 
particularly averse to foreign ownership.  In the past 
this has made the purchase of certain strategic entities 
problematic for new foreign owners.  In some previous 
cases, liberal and unwieldy concessions, not announced 
during the bidding process, were granted to investors. 
At other times, substantive changes were introduced 
after the process had begun. 
 
--Investment Trends 
 
¶26.  From 1998-2001, foreign direct investment flows to 
Sri Lanka averaged only about $150 million per year 
(excluding privatization receipts).  Following the 
commencement of the peace process and improved investor 
confidence, annual foreign investment flows have 
averaged about $200 million.  Although initially FDI was 
expected to rise faster following the ceasefire, it has 
stagnated due to the stalemate in the peace process.  In 
2004, FDI was about $178 million, according to recent 
IMF estimates.  FDI mainly funded telecommunications and 
manufacturing industries (cement and textiles).  Other 
major deals struck in 2004 included a $30 million 
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) center by the Hong 
Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC). 
 
¶27.  The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has been growing 
markedly since 2002, due to local investor activity.  In 
July 2004, Colombo was named the best performing market 
in Asia and the fifth best performing equity market in 
the World by Bloomberg.  The upsurge in stocks could be 
directly attributed to the ceasefire agreement and a 
rise in tourism stocks.  The market has also become 
attractive to local investors due to negative real 
interest rates.  A large IPO from a new Indian oil 
retail business in Sri Lanka also boosted the market 
heavily in December.  Despite the boom, foreign 
investors have largely stayed out of the market, and 
were net sellers in 2003-2004.  Uncertainty about the 
peace process, weak macro economic fundamentals, and 
reversals in economic reforms are major concerns to 
foreign investors.  The CSE is taking steps to broaden 
the investor base both in Sri Lanka and abroad. 
 
Conversion and Transfer Policies 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶28.  Sri Lanka has accepted Article VIII status of the 
IMF and has liberalized exchange controls on current 
account transactions.  There are no surrender 
requirements on export receipts, but exporters need to 
repatriate export proceeds within 120 days to settle 
export credit facilities.  Other export proceeds can be 
retained abroad.  Currently, contracts for forward 
bookings of foreign exchange are permitted for a maximum 
period of 360 days for the purposes of payments in trade 
and 720 days for the repayment of loans. 
¶29.  There are also no barriers, legal or otherwise, to 
the expeditious remitting of corporate profits and 
dividends for foreign enterprises doing business in Sri 
Lanka.  Remittance of business fees (management fees, 
royalties and licensing fees) is also freely permitted. 
Funds for debt service and capital gains of BOI-approved 
companies exempted from exchange control regulations are 
freely permitted.  Other foreign companies remitting 
funds for debt service and capital gains require Central 
Bank approval.  All stock market investments can be 
remitted without prior approval of the Central Bank. 
Investment returns can be remitted in any convertible 
currency at the legal market rate.  Controls on capital 
account (investment) transactions usually prohibit 
foreigners from investing in debt and fixed income 
securities.  One exception has been the Central Bank's 
dollar denominated bond issues in the local market in 
2001, 2002 and 2004 that were opened to foreign 
investors.  It has been proposed to allow foreigners to 
invest in corporate debentures and government bonds. 
 
¶30.  Local companies require Central Bank approval to 
invest abroad.  The process of granting approval for 
such investments was streamlined in 2002, resulting in a 
substantial increase in approvals. 
 
Expropriation and Compensation 
------------------------------ 
 
¶31.  Since economic liberalization policies began in 
1978, the Sri Lankan Government has never been convicted 
of expropriating a foreign investment.  Under the terms 
of the US/Sri Lanka Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), 
investors have the right to arbitration under the 
International Center for the Settlement of Investment 
Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank.  A long-standing 
dispute involving an alleged expropriation of a US 
company's investment was satisfactorily resolved during 
1998 after lengthy negotiations involving the company, 
the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry, the Sri Lankan Attorney 
General, and the US Embassy. 
 
Dispute Settlement 
------------------ 
 
--Legal System 
 
¶32.  Sri Lankan commercial law is almost entirely 
statutory.  The law was codified before independence in 
1948 and reflects the letter and spirit of British law 
of that era.  Its amendments have, by and large, kept 
pace with subsequent legal changes in the U.K.  Until 
recently, the court system was largely free from 
government interference.  There are allegations that the 
judiciary is now sometimes subject to political 
influence, but this has not negatively affected 
commercial litigation.  Procedures exist for enforcing 
foreign judgments.  Litigation can be very time 
consuming.  Several important legislative enactments 
regulate commercial matters:  the Board of Investment 
Law, the Intellectual Property Act, the Companies Act, 
the Securities and Exchange Commission Act, the Banking 
Act, the Industrial Promotion Act and Consumer Affairs 
Authority Act.  Most of these laws were revised 
recently. 
 
--Bankruptcy Laws 
 
¶33.  The Companies Act and the Insolvency Ordinance 
provide for dissolution of insolvent companies.  But 
currently, there is no mechanism to facilitate the re- 
organization of financially troubled companies.  Other 
laws make it very difficult to keep a troubled company 
afloat.  The Termination Act, for example, prohibits 
employers from dismissing workers even on the grounds of 
inefficiency.  The Parliament has passed an amendment to 
the Termination Act to facilitate retrenchment, but the 
amendment's implementation was delayed until the 
government could develop a compensation formula and an 
unemployment insurance scheme for displaced workers. 
After revisions and delays, the compensation formula was 
finally published in March 2005, but employers have 
protested that it is excessive compared to similar 
formulae in the Asian region, with terms in Sri Lanka 
about twice as generous as the East Asian average.  The 
compensation plan could adversely affect companies' 
restructuring plans and discourage future employment 
growth. 
 
¶34.  In the absence of proper bankruptcy laws, extra- 
judicial powers granted by law to financial institutions 
protect the rights of creditors and have helped 
strengthen credit discipline.  Lenders are able to 
enforce financial contracts through powers that allow 
them to foreclose on loan collateral without the 
intervention of courts.  A recent judgment, however, 
ruled that these powers would not apply with respect to 
collateral provided by guarantors to a loan.  Financial 
institutions also face other legal challenges as 
defaulters obtain restraining orders on frivolous 
grounds due to technical defects in the recovery laws. 
Also, for default cases filed in courts, the judicial 
process is time consuming.  The private sector has urged 
the government to introduce US Chapter 11-style 
bankruptcy laws.  The financial community has requested 
the strengthening of debt recovery laws. 
 
--Investment Protection 
 
¶35.  In principle, foreign investments are guaranteed 
protection by the Constitution of Sri Lanka.  The 
government has entered into 24 investment protection 
agreements with foreign governments (including that of 
the United States) and is a founding member of the 
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the 
World Bank.  Sri Lanka is also a founding member of the 
World Trade Organization.  The government has ratified 
the Convention on Settlement of Investment Disputes, 
which provides the mechanism and facilities for 
international arbitration through the World Bank's 
ICSID. 
 
¶36.  The U.S.-Sri Lanka Bilateral Investment Treaty 
(BIT) was ratified by both governments in early 1993.  A 
bilateral treaty to prevent double taxation went into 
effect on June 12, 2004. 
 
¶37.  Settlement of disputes through the Sri Lankan court 
system is subject to protracted and inexplicable delay. 
Aggrieved investors (especially those dealing with the 
government of Sri Lanka on projects) have frequently 
pursued out-of-court settlements, which offer a 
possibility of speedier dispute resolution. 
 
--Arbitration 
 
¶38.  The Arbitration Act of 1995 gives recognition to 
the New York Convention on recognition and enforcement 
of foreign arbitral awards.  Arbitral awards made abroad 
are now enforceable in Sri Lanka.  Similarly, awards 
made in Sri Lanka are enforceable abroad.  A center for 
arbitration known as the Institute for the Development 
of Commercial Law and Practice (ICLP) has been 
established in Colombo for the expeditious, economical, 
and private settlement of commercial disputes. 
Unfortunately, the ICLP appears unlikely to become 
involved in disputes involving the Sri Lankan 
Government, the source of most disputes with U.S. 
companies in recent years. 
¶39.  Sri Lanka's first commercial mediation center was 
established in 2000 and became operational in mid 2001. 
Commercial mediation is conducted under the Commercial 
Mediation Act.  Interest in mediation is still low. 
 
¶40.  The Labor Department has a process involving labor 
tribunals for settling industrial disputes with laborers 
or unions, and arbitration is required when attempts to 
reconcile industrial disputes fail.  The Labor 
Commissioner typically becomes involved in labor- 
management mediation.  Other senior officials, including 
the Labor Minister, and the President, have intervened 
in particularly difficult cases. 
 
--Investment Disputes Involving U.S. Companies 
 
¶41.  There continue to be trade and investment disputes, 
particularly surrounding government procurement.  The 
government procurement process in Sri Lanka is slow and 
opaque.  US Companies continue to face problems with 
payment of valid contracts, implementation of agreements 
with the Government, and inexplicable failure to secure 
contracts, despite demonstrated superior performance, 
high value, and low bids.  Some US companies have found 
it difficult to secure payment for power generation due 
to CEB's tight cash flow situation. 
 
¶42.  In May 2000, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court 
effectively blocked an existing investment agreement 
between the Government of Sri Lanka and a US mining 
company.  Although the investment agreement was already 
initialed and approved by the Sri Lankan cabinet, work 
on the project had not yet begun.  A group of citizens 
filed a fundamental rights case under a Sri Lankan law 
that allows any person to seek protection from the 
Supreme Court if a government or administrative act 
impedes his/her rights.  In this case, the plaintiffs 
alleged that their rights would be violated if the 
project were implemented, and the court upheld their 
complaint.  Without any technical argument, a partial 
bench of 3 judges ruled that the project could not 
proceed before completion of a new series of detailed 
and highly comprehensive and expensive studies, some of 
which appeared to be technically impractical.  Because 
this is a Supreme Court decision, options for reversing 
the decision appear limited. 
 
¶43.  In another case, a US investor with a substantial 
investment in an export manufacturing company has faced 
lengthy delays in a court case over a large insurance 
claim.  The company instituted legal action in June 1999 
and court proceedings are still ongoing.  The Company 
withdrew its operations from Sri Lanka in 2004.  In many 
disputes, defendants resort to obtaining injunctions, 
stay orders, or postponements to drag cases on for 
years. 
 
Performance Requirements/Incentives 
----------------------------------- 
 
--Performance Requirements 
 
¶44.  The Board of Investment specifies certain minimum 
investment amounts for both local and foreign investors 
to qualify for incentives.  Firms enjoying preferential 
incentives in the manufacturing sector in most cases are 
required to export 80 percent of production, while those 
in the service sector must export at least 70 percent of 
production.  Sri Lanka complies with WTO Trade Related 
Investment Measures (TRIMS) Obligations. 
 
¶45.  Foreign investment is encouraged in information 
technology, electronic assembly, light engineering, 
automobile parts and accessories manufacturing, 
industrial and IT parks, rubber based industries, 
information and communication services, tourism and 
leisure related activities, agriculture and agro 
processing, port related services, regional operating 
headquarters, and infrastructure projects.  Foreign 
investors are generally not expected to reduce their 
equity over time, nor are they expected to transfer 
technology within a specified period of time, except for 
build-own-transfer or other such projects in which the 
terms are specified within pertinent contracts. 
 
¶46.  In some BOI-approved enterprises, businesses are 
required to maintain certain levels of employment.  In 
addition, privatization agreements prohibit new owners 
from dismissing workers as a rule, although the owners 
are free to offer voluntary retirement packages to 
reduce their workforce.  Some foreign investors have 
received political pressure to hire workers from a 
particular constituency or a given list, but have 
successfully resisted such pressure with no apparent 
adverse effects. 
 
¶47.  Foreign investors who make an equity investment of 
at least $50,000 can qualify for a resident visa. 
Employment of foreign personnel is permitted when there 
is a demonstrated shortage of qualified local labor. 
Technical and managerial personnel are in short supply, 
and this shortage is likely to continue in the near 
future.  Foreign employees attached to BOI-approved 
companies usually receive preferential tax treatment and 
do not experience significant problems in obtaining work 
or residence permits. 
 
--Investment Incentives 
 
¶48.  The Board of Investment has announced the following 
investment incentives: 
 
Incentive Program I 
 
Qualifying industries: 
--Non-traditional manufacturing exports and companies 
supplying to exporting companies.  Minimum investment of 
$150,000; 
--Export oriented services.  Minimum investment of 
$150,000; 
--Manufacture of industrial tools and/or machinery. 
Minimum investment of $150,000; 
--Small-scale infrastructure.  Minimum investment of 
$500,000; 
--Research and development.  Minimum investment of 
$50,000; 
--Agriculture and agro processing industries.  Minimum 
investment of $10,000; 
 
Incentives:  Above industries will qualify for a five- 
year tax holiday initially.  A preferential tax of 10 
percent in the 6th and 7th years follows the tax 
holiday.  After the 7th year, a preferential tax of 15- 
20 percent will apply.  In addition, these industries 
qualify for duty-free imports (generally, during the 
life of the project for export-oriented projects, and 
during the project implementation period for others). 
Exporting companies and export-oriented services will be 
exempted from exchange control regulations.  They will 
also qualify for free repatriation of profits and 
dividends and free transferability of shares.  A 
recently introduced Economic Service Charge at 0.25 
percent of income will be applicable to BOI approved 
companies with tax holidays, from the fourth year of 
operation.  The tax applies even to existing companies. 
There is no grandfather clause. 
 
Incentive Program II 
 
Qualifying Industries: 
--Information technology services such as call centers, 
data entry services, data centers, software development 
services, host centers for e-governance and related 
projects (a); 
--IT training institutes (b); 
--Regional operating headquarters providing the 
following services to related businesses outside Sri 
Lanka:  sourcing raw materials, R&D, technical support, 
financial and treasury management, marketing and sales 
promotion; 
--Any industrial, agricultural, service, or construction 
activity approved by the BOI.  Minimum investment of $5 
million. 
 
(a) Minimum employment of 15 IT professionals is 
required in IT companies 
(b) Minimum 300 students required for IT training 
institutes. 
 
Incentives:  Above industries will qualify for a 3-year 
tax holiday period initially.  A preferential tax of 10 
percent will apply in the 4th and 5th years.  From the 
6th year onwards, a preferential tax of 15-20 percent 
will apply.  In addition, capital goods will be exempted 
from import duty.  A recently introduced Economic 
Service Charge at 0.25 percent of income will be 
applicable to BOI approved companies enjoying tax 
holidays, from the fourth year of operation.  The new 
tax applies even to those companies already operating in 
Sri Lanka. 
 
Infrastructure development: 
 
¶49.  Companies acquiring existing companies in 
petroleum, power generation, transmission, development 
of highways, sea ports, airports, railway, water 
services, public transport, agriculture and agro 
processing and other infrastructure projects approved by 
the BOI will qualify for tax holidays ranging from 5 to 
10 years depending on the magnitude of investment.  A 
preferential tax of 15 percent will follow after the tax 
holiday period.  These companies will also qualify for 
duty free imports of capital goods.  A minimum 
investment of $12.5 million is required. 
 
¶50.  Large-scale new infrastructure projects in power 
generation, transmission and distribution; development 
of highways, seaports, airports, public transport and 
water services; establishment of industrial parks, and 
other infrastructure projects approved by the BOI will 
qualify for tax holidays ranging from 6 to 12 years 
depending on the size of the investment.  A preferential 
tax of 15 percent will follow the tax holiday.  They 
will also qualify for duty free imports of capital 
goods. A minimum investment of $10 million is required. 
 
--Indo-Lanka and Pakistan-Lanka Free Trade Agreements: A 
Gateway to South Asia. 
 
¶51.  A preferential trade agreement, the Indo Lanka Free 
Trade Agreement (ILFTA) (www.indolankafta.org) between 
Sri Lanka and India, is now in operation.  Under this 
agreement, most products manufactured in Sri Lanka, with 
at least 35 percent domestic value addition (if raw 
materials are imported from India, domestic value 
addition required is only 25 percent), qualify for duty 
free entry to the Indian market.  Tariff concessions for 
Sri Lankan products include zero tariffs on 4,150 items; 
50 to 75 percent reduction for tea and garments under 
quota; 25 percent reduction for 528 items, and no 
reduction for 429 items (negative list).  The two 
countries have begun discussions on services sector 
liberalization, although no specific goals have been set 
yet. Because production constitutes a portion of the 
value, this agreement may be well utilized as a mode of 
entry into the Indian market by U.S. companies. 
 
¶52.  Sri Lanka recently signed a free trade agreement 
with Pakistan.  The two agreements are seen as steps 
towards making Sri Lanka a regional hub and a gateway to 
South Asia and the Middle East for foreign investors. 
 
--Prospects for U.S. Investment under Indo Lanka Free 
Trade Agreement (ILFTA) 
¶53.  Foreign investors in Sri Lanka can enjoy 
preferential access to the Indian market under the 
ILFTA.  The BOI hopes to attract foreign joint ventures 
to Sri Lanka under the ILFTA.  Indian imports amounted 
to over $49 billion in 2002.  The BOI's strategy is to 
identify products imported into India and to target its 
investment promotion efforts to countries and companies 
manufacturing them.  The US is one such country; the US 
accounts for about 7 percent of Indian imports, valued 
at $5.5 billion in 2003-4.  A majority of these products 
would qualify for substantial duty concessions if 
exported from Sri Lanka under the ILFTA.  The BOI 
encourages US manufacturing companies and regional 
operating headquarters to relocate in Sri Lanka to 
benefit from ILFTA.  The BOI has identified the 
following sectors for investment promotion in the US: 
electronics, light engineering, 
pharmaceuticals/cosmetics, information technology and 
financial services. 
 
¶54.  Some US companies currently avail themselves of 
this agreement, adding 35 percent value in Sri Lanka and 
getting import duties into India reduced from as much as 
40 percent to as little as zero. 
 
¶55.  For further information on investment incentives 
and other investment-related issues, potential investors 
are encouraged to contact the Board of Investment 
directly.  The BOI can be found at www.boi.lk, or 
reached via e-mail at info@boi.lk 
 
Right to Private Ownership and Establishment 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶56.  Private entities are free to establish, acquire, 
and dispose of interests in business enterprises. 
Private enterprises enjoy benefits similar to those 
granted to public enterprises, and there are no known 
limitations to access to markets, credit, or licenses. 
Foreign ownership is allowed in most sectors.  Private 
land ownership is limited to fifty acres per person. 
The government owns about 80 percent of the land in Sri 
Lanka, including the land housing most tea, rubber, and 
coconut plantations.  The government has leased most of 
these plantations to the private sector on 50-year 
terms.  Although state land for industrial use is 
usually allotted on a 50-year lease, 99-year leases may 
also be approved on a case-by-case basis, depending on 
the nature of the project. 
 
¶57.  Foreign investors can purchase land from private 
sellers.  The government recently imposed a 100 percent 
tax on land transfers to foreigners and imposed a 
definition of foreign investment to include corporations 
with as little as 25 percent foreign ownership. 
 
Protection of Property Rights 
----------------------------- 
 
--Property rights 
 
¶58.  Secured interests in property are recognized and 
enforced.  A fairly reliable registration system exists 
for recording private property including land, buildings 
and mortgages.  However, there have been problems due to 
fraud and forged documents.  The Government has begun to 
address these issues under a World Bank sponsored 
judicial reforms project.  The legal system is 
nondiscriminatory and protects and facilitates 
acquisition and disposition of property rights by 
foreigners, although it has recently become subject to 
political influence. 
¶59.  Private farmers generally work state-owned lands 
under varying tenure agreements, ranging from 
restrictive tenures to land grants, although the 
property rights to these lands are frequently ill- 
defined.  A World Bank-funded project is underway to 
develop a legal framework for implementing a titling 
system for land.  The project aims to remove, or at 
least clarify, restrictions related to the sale, leasing 
and transfer and mortgaging of rural lands previously 
distributed to farmers. 
 
¶60.  In 2004, the Government changed land ownership 
regulations by re-imposing a 100 percent tax on land 
sales to foreigners, which had been removed in 2002. 
Under the previous version of this tax, foreign 
companies registered in Sri Lanka were considered local 
companies and were not subject to tax.  In its current 
form however, any company with 25 percent foreign 
ownership is considered "foreign" for the purposes of 
the tax.  Apartments above the third floor of 
condominium buildings, land for the development of large 
housing schemes, hospitals, hotels, exporting companies 
with a minimum investment of USD 1 million, and large 
infrastructure projects are to be exempted from the 
tax.  Foreigners maintaining US$150,000 in a bank 
account in Sri Lanka will be given concessionary 
treatment.  Regulations regarding these exceptions are 
yet to be published.  In addition to the tax, the 
government has plans to prohibit certain geographical 
areas from purchase by non-citizens. 
 
--Intellectual Property Rights Protection 
 
¶61.  Sri Lanka is a party to major Intellectual Property 
Agreements including the Berne Convention for the 
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the Paris 
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, 
the Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or 
Deceptive Indication of Source on Goods, the Nairobi 
Treaty, the Patent Co-operation Treaty, the Universal 
Copyright Convention, and the Convention establishing 
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 
Sri Lanka and the US signed a Bilateral Agreement for 
the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in 1991, 
and Sri Lanka is also a party to the Trade Related 
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement in the 
World Trade Organization.  Enforcement of these 
agreements, however, is in its infancy. 
 
¶62.  A new intellectual property law came into force in 
November 2003.  It meets both US-Sri Lanka bilateral IPR 
agreement and TRIPS obligations to a great extent.  The 
IPR law governs copyrights and related rights, 
reproduction rights, public distribution rights, 
industrial designs, patents for inventions, trademarks 
and service marks, trade names, layout designs of 
integrated circuits, geographical indications, unfair 
competition, databases, computer programs, and 
undisclosed information.  The law also covers the rights 
of performers, producers of sound recordings, and 
broadcasting organizations.  All trademarks, designs, 
industrial designs and patents must be registered with 
the Director General of Intellectual Property. 
 
¶63.  Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) 
is a punishable offense under the law.  Intellectual 
Property Rights come under both criminal and civil 
jurisdiction.  Relief available to owners under the new 
law includes injunctive relief, seizure and destruction 
of infringing goods and plates or implements used for 
the making of infringing copies, and prohibition of 
imports and exports.  Police can take ex-officio action 
to enforce the law.  Aggrieved parties can also, on 
their own, seek redress for any IPR violations through 
the courts, though this can be a frustrating and time- 
consuming process. 
¶64.  Although the legal system is well-established and 
non-discriminatory, it is fraught with long delays. 
Enforcement was a serious problem under the old law, and 
public awareness of IPR continues to be limited.  Under 
the old law, domestic implementation legislation was 
very weak and the government did not act as an enforcer 
of IPR laws. 
 
¶65.  With the passage of the new law, Sri Lanka has 
begun to enforce IPR laws.  However, it will take time 
before new procedures and court precedents are 
established.  In October 2004, Sri Lankan Police raided 
a previously unknown illegal CD manufacturing plant 
owned by Malaysian nationals.  The Police carried out 
additional raids of counterfeit CD/VCD stores in the 
first quarter of 2005.  Customs has also seized 
counterfeit consumer goods, mainly cigarettes. 
Meanwhile, local agents of reputed US and other 
international recording companies, software development 
companies, motion picture companies, clothing companies 
and consumer product companies continue to complain that 
lack of IPR protection is damaging their businesses. 
Further, CD/VCD stores that were raided in early 2005 
again sell pirated goods, and a trade association of 
pirates and distributors was recently established.  The 
association claims that IPR enforcement violates its 
members' right to generate business.  Nevertheless, in 
June 2005, vendors of pirated CDs and DVDs were fined 
and received suspended jail sentences in Sri Lanka's 
courts, suggesting minor progress in the enforcement of 
the new law.  The Embassy, along with key industry 
players including the IFPI, continues to lobby the 
government to improve Sri Lanka's IPR regime. 
 
¶66.  Sri Lanka needs to ratify and conform to the WIPO 
Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) and the WIPO 
Copyright Treaty (WCT).  Ratification of these two 
treaties will support electronic commerce, protect the 
rights of performers and producers of phonograms and the 
rights of authors in their literary and artistic works, 
and offer an adequate basis to fight international 
piracy in view of new technological developments.  Sri 
Lanka also lacks provisions to deal with electronic 
transactions, electronic signatures, and computer crimes 
and evidence.  The IPR law does not cover protection of 
new plant varieties. 
 
--Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks 
 
¶67.  Patents are granted for inventions, with the 
following exceptions:  discoveries, scientific theories 
and mathematical methods, plant or animal varieties 
(other than micro biological processes) and essentially 
biological processes for the production of plants and 
animals (other than non biological and microbiological 
processes), business rules and methods, methods of 
treatment by surgery or therapy, and diagnostic methods 
practiced on a human or animal body.  The law also 
permits compulsory licensing and parallel imports of 
pharmaceutical products.  Compulsory licensing will 
allow the government to grant licenses to manufacture 
certain patented drugs, overruling patent licenses in a 
national emergency.  The parallel imports will allow the 
import of a branded drug from an alternative source. 
 
¶68.  A patent is valid for 20 years from the date of 
application but must be renewed annually. 
 
¶69.  Copyrights are not registered.  A work is protected 
automatically by operation of law.  Original literary, 
artistic, and scientific works including computer 
programs and databases are protected under the new law. 
There are enforcement limitations applying to 
copyrights, including software. 
 
¶70.  Sri Lanka recognizes both trademarks and service 
marks.  The exclusive right to a mark is acquired by 
registration.  A mark may consist of words, slogans, 
designs, etc.  Protection also is available to well 
known marks not registered in Sri Lanka.  For instance, 
the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka recently held that a 
local company did not have a right to use the MTV 
trademark owned by Viacom International of the U.S. 
Registered trademarks are valid for ten years and 
renewable.  The law also recognizes both certification 
marks and collective marks. 
 
Lack of Transparency in the Regulatory System and 
Tendering Process 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
----------- 
 
¶71.  The BOI strives to inform potential investors about 
laws and regulations that may affect operations in Sri 
Lanka.  Laws pertaining to tax, labor and labor 
standards, exchange controls, customs, environmental 
norms, and building and construction standards are in 
place.  However, some of the laws and regulations are 
not freely available and are difficult to access. 
Foreign and domestic investors often complain that the 
regulatory system allows far too much leeway for 
bureaucratic discretion.  Outdated regulations and rigid 
administrative procedures imposed by public sector 
institutions have been identified as impediments to 
private sector growth.  Effective enforcement mechanisms 
are sometimes lacking, and coordination problems between 
the BOI and relevant line agencies frequently emerge. 
Lethargy and indifference on the part of mid- and lower- 
level public servants compound transparency problems. 
Non-availability of technical capacity within the 
government to review financial proposals for private 
infrastructure projects also creates problems during 
tendering. 
 
¶72.  Although many foreign investors, including US 
firms, have had positive experiences in Sri Lanka, some 
have encountered significant problems with government 
practices and regulations.  For example, one foreign 
company that had obtained a waiver of a particular 
requirement in order to obtain a license was later told 
it must meet the requirement to continue to be qualified 
for the license, with no advance warning and little 
justification.  Some multinational firms have 
experienced extensive unexplained delays in trying to 
reach agreement on investment projects.  Others have had 
contracts inexplicably canceled without compensation, 
even though the Sri Lankan Cabinet had earlier approved 
those contracts. 
 
Efficient Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
--Availability of financial resources 
 
¶73.  Retained profits finance about 70 percent of 
private investment, with short term borrowing financing 
a further 20 percent of investment.  The stock market 
and corporate securities market have not been 
significantly used to raise capital.  FDI finances about 
4 percent of investment. 
 
¶74.  The State consumes over 50 percent of the country's 
domestic financial resources and has a virtual monopoly 
on the management and use of long-term savings in the 
country.  This inhibits the free flow of financial 
resources to product and factor markets.  In the past, 
high interest rate volatility, due to excessive use of 
short term borrowing by the state, increased 
intermediate costs, which led to higher costs to other 
borrowers.  Since 2002, government policy has supported 
a low interest rate regime.  As a result, interest rates 
have fallen significantly and have given impetus to 
increased credit, which has contributed to increased 
domestic investment as well as inflation.  The 
investment/GDP ratio rose to 25.3 percent in 2004, 
compared with 22 percent in 2001.  The prime lending 
rate currently averages 10 percent, which is well below 
the current inflation rate.  Foreign investors are 
allowed to access credit on the local market.  They are 
also free to raise foreign currency loans. 
¶75.  A total of Rs 12.3 billion (approx. $123 million) 
was raised in the primary market by way of new equity 
and debt in 2004, reflecting the potential for companies 
to raise funds through the market. 
 
--Credit Instruments 
 
¶76.  Commercial banks and two development finance 
institutions, the National Development Bank (NDB) and 
the Development Finance Corporation of Ceylon Bank 
(DFCC), are the principal source of bank finance.  Bank 
loans are the most widely used credit instrument for the 
private sector.  Financial institutions such as the DFCC 
Bank and some commercial banks also raise syndicated 
bank loans to fund large-scale investment projects 
undertaken by the private sector. 
 
¶77.  The domestic debt market in Sri Lanka is still at a 
very nascent stage.  The first credit rating agency, 
Fitch IBRC, opened an office in Colombo in 1999, which 
has helped companies to raise funds through debt 
markets.  Fitch Rating Lanka Ltd, is a joint venture 
between Fitch IBRC, IFC, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 
and several local financial institutions.  Credit 
ratings are now mandatory for all deposit taking 
institutions and for all varieties of debt instruments. 
 
--Accounting Standards 
 
¶78.  There is an active and relatively competent 
accounting profession, based on the British model.  The 
source of accounting standards is the Institute of 
Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), and 
standards are constantly updated to reflect current 
international accounting and audit standards.  Sri Lanka 
carried out a major revision of accounting and auditing 
standards in September 1997.  Since then, the standards 
have been periodically updated to meet new international 
standards adopted by the International Accounting 
Standards Board (IASB).  Due to the lack of an adequate 
enforcement mechanism, however, problems with the 
quality and reliability of financial statements still 
exist. 
 
¶79.  Sri Lanka accounting standards are applicable for 
all banks and stock exchange listed companies and all 
other large- and medium-sized companies in Sri Lanka. 
Accounts of such business enterprises are required to be 
audited by professionally qualified auditors holding 
ICASL membership.  ICASL has recently published 
accounting standards for small companies as well.  The 
Accounting Standards and Monitoring Board (ASMB) is 
responsible for monitoring compliance with Sri Lankan 
accounting and auditing standards. 
 
--Securities and Exchange Commission 
 
¶80.  The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 
regulates the securities market in Sri Lanka.  The SEC 
law was revised in 2003, enhancing its coverage and 
investigative powers.  The SEC now covers stock 
exchanges, unit trusts, stock brokers, listed public 
companies, margin traders, underwriters, investment 
managers, credit rating agencies and securities 
depositories. 
 
¶81.  Foreign investors can freely purchase up to 100 
percent of equity in Sri Lankan companies in numerous 
permitted sectors.  In order to facilitate portfolio 
investments, country funds and regional funds are also 
allowed to invest in Sri Lanka's stock market; such 
funds must first receive Ministry of Finance approval to 
operate in Sri Lanka.  These funds make transactions 
through share investment external rupee accounts 
maintained in commercial banks. 
 
¶82.  Sri Lanka's SEC was rocked by a scandal in early 
2003, tarnishing the image of the market watchdog.  The 
SEC Chairman and another leading businessman were 
implicated for insider dealing at a blue chip local 
conglomerate where they were both directors.  Initial 
attempts by the SEC secretariat to institute legal 
actions against the two were blocked by the SEC Board of 
Directors.  Later, the Attorney General ruled that the 
SEC Board had acted improperly, casting doubt on the 
board members' credibility.  The SEC Chairman resigned 
and later pleaded innocence.   The two parties 
subsequently came to an out-of-court settlement. 
 
¶83.  The SEC scandal has caused many to call for 
increased corporate governance and accountability in the 
private sector.  Some business consultants have asked 
for laws such as the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act to regulate 
financial services and professional services 
organizations. 
 
--Colombo Stock Exchange 
 
¶84.  The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), while small by 
"big emerging market" standards, is one of the most 
efficient in the region.  The CSE is fully automated, 
with automated trading and clearing and settlement 
systems.  The CSE has a rolling settlement period of 
five days for buyers and six days for sellers.  Fifteen 
local and foreign joint venture brokers currently 
operate at the CSE.  Foreign stockbrokers are permitted 
to hold up to 100 percent equity in stock brokerage 
firms operating at the CSE.  SEC has a settlement 
guarantee fund with an initial capital of Rs 100 million 
(US$1 million) which aims to guarantee the settlement of 
trades between clearing members of the exchange.  The 
Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) program is conducted 
in Sri Lanka. 
 
¶85.  Acquisition of companies through mergers and 
takeovers is governed by the Takeovers and Mergers Code 
of 1995 made under the Securities and Exchange 
Commission of Sri Lanka Act.  This law applies only to 
companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange.  It is 
modeled on the lines of the London City Code on 
Takeovers and Mergers.  Acquisition of more than a 30 
percent stake of a listed company requires the buyer to 
make an offer to all other shareholders.  The articles 
of association of a few listed companies restrict 
foreign equity to certain levels. 
 
¶86.  There are 242 companies listed on the stock 
exchange and the top ten positions by market 
capitalization are held by banks and food and beverage 
companies.  In 2003-2004, CSE was one of the best 
performing markets in the world.  The cease-fire 
agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the 
LTTE has helped to boost investor confidence.  During 
1998-2001, the Colombo Stock Market experienced a sharp 
downturn due to a variety of local and international 
factors.  As a result, the CSE was removed from the 
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Index in 
¶2001.  It has not been reclassified in the MSCI yet, 
despite recent surge driven mainly by locals.  The 
single overriding factor inhibiting the sustainable 
development of the stock market has been the conflict in 
the North and East and its effect on investor confidence 
and the economy as a whole.  Other broader issues 
include lack of liquidity and limited market size. 
Improvements are also needed in corporate governance, 
accountability, and public disclosure in companies.  The 
Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board, the 
Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the Colombo Stock Exchange, 
and professional accounting bodies are taking 
initiatives in these areas. 
--Banking System 
 
¶87.  Sri Lanka has a fairly well diversified banking 
system.  There are 22 commercial banks, consisting of 
eleven local banks and eleven foreign banks.  In 
addition, there are thirteen local specialized banks. 
Citibank NA is the only US bank operating in Sri Lanka 
and has expanded its operations recently.  In 2001-2003, 
Mashreq Bank, American Express Bank, Nova Scotia Bank 
and ABN Amro Bank all sold their banking operations in 
Colombo to existing banks.  Sri Lanka experienced its 
first bank failure in December 2002 when the Central 
Bank took action to revoke the license of a small 
licensed specialized bank as its financial condition 
deteriorated to insolvency.  There has not been any 
fallout for other banks from this incident.  Two other 
small troubled banks were restructured under Central 
Bank guidance.  In April 2005, the Central Bank 
introduced higher capital requirements for commercial 
banks in a bid to enhance the banking system stability, 
promote consolidation and facilitate entry of larger 
banks. 
 
¶88.  The Central Bank is responsible for supervision of 
all banking institutions.  Wide-ranging improvements 
have been made in banking regulations and in public 
disclosure of banking sector performance.  In 2002 the 
Monetary Law Act (MLA) was amended to provide the 
Central Bank broader supervisory powers and greater 
independence.  The Central Bank also issued a code of 
corporate governance for banks and financial 
institutions in 2002.  In addition, rules on 
classification and provisioning were improved 
significantly from January 2004.  Further, the Banking 
Act was amended in 2005 to give additional supervisory 
powers to the Central Bank and to introduce guidelines 
to check the suitability of bank directors.  The amended 
Banking Act outlaws pyramid type programs.  Further 
amendments to the laws are also expected in the next two 
years under ongoing financial and legal reforms 
programs. 
 
¶89.  In 2004, the Central Bank introduced technical 
improvements to facilitate banking sector efficiency by 
establishing a Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system 
and a Scriptless Securities Settlement (SSS) system. 
They have improved the efficiency and the safety of the 
country's payment and settlement systems and will 
facilitate trade in government securities. 
 
¶90.  Central Bank supervision as well as auditing 
practices of private audit firms came under criticism 
after the 2002 specialized bank failure mentioned above. 
The Central Bank obtained the services of an 
international expert to strengthen bank supervision in 
¶2004. 
 
--State Owned Banks 
 
¶91.  Total assets of commercial banks stood at Rs 1,028 
billion ($10 billion) as of December 31, 2003.  Bank of 
Ceylon and People's Bank with assets of Rs 266 billion 
($2.7 billion) and Rs 224 billion ($2.2 billion) 
respectively in 2004, still dominate banking, accounting 
for about 45 percent of all assets. 
 
¶92.  The financial profile of both state banks 
deteriorated over the years, mainly as a result of 
direct lending and operating inefficiencies.  Since most 
of the bad debt of the two banks was implicitly 
guaranteed by the state, these problems did not affect 
the credibility of the banking system in Sri Lanka.  The 
government re-capitalized these banks during the 1990's 
without success.  The weaknesses in the state banks, 
however, make it possible for other inefficient banks to 
operate and for the more efficient banks to make higher 
profits than they would otherwise.  The World Bank and 
IMF have identified the dominance of the inefficient 
state banks as a main constraint to developing the 
financial sector.  Consequently, the government has been 
trying to reorganize the banks.  Both banks launched 
restructuring exercises to return to commercial 
viability in the medium term.  Top management at both 
Bank of Ceylon and People's Bank now contains private 
sector personnel, and the banks were granted greater 
autonomy.  Further, asset classification and 
provisioning norms have been progressively strengthened. 
While Bank of Ceylon has met most of the restructuring 
targets and shows substantial improvements in its 
financial profile, the situation at People's Bank 
remains weak.  In particular, the provisioning has left 
the bank with a large negative equity affecting its 
operations.  In addition, the failure to restructure 
large state owned utilities such as the Ceylon 
Electricity Board and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, 
and the failure to adjust prices in a timely manner, 
have recently forced these agencies to borrow from state 
banks.  These loans to Government corporations could 
again badly affect the People's Bank's liquidity. 
 
¶93.  In early 2005, the Cabinet approved new business 
development plans for the two state banks to make them 
more viable.  The plans were developed under the 
guidance of SEMA, the high-powered restructuring agency 
of the Government.  The plan for Bank of Ceylon aims to 
increase its profitability and efficiency.  In the case 
of People's Bank, the state is to re-capitalize the 
bank, for the third time, to meet a capital shortfall of 
Rs 10 billion.  The latest capitalization is to be 
supported by an ADB program, which will see equity 
funding over 3 years.  ADB funding will be required to 
meet performance targets on non-performing loans and 
demonstrate profitability, cost, and capital adequacy. 
The new plan signifies a departure from the earlier IMF 
agreed plan to sell the bank under a restructuring 
program. 
 
--Private Commercial Banks and Foreign Banks 
 
¶94.  Private commercial banks and foreign banks 
operating in Sri Lanka generally follow more prudent 
credit policies and, as a group, are in better financial 
shape.  Nonetheless, the private banking sector also 
remains trapped with a high level of non-performing 
loans, despite high margins.  In 2004, the average rate 
of non-performing loans to total loans was 10 percent 
for all commercial banks.  There are concerns regarding 
inadequate loan loss provisioning and low operational 
efficiency in some local private banks.  The banks are 
expected to improve provisioning with the introduction 
of new provisioning rules by the Central Bank in 2004. 
Foreign banks tend to make provisions in line with 
international best practices, as most foreign bank 
branches are subject to host  country supervision in 
addition to that of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.  To 
help improve bank performance, an Asset Management 
Company Law is being prepared with World Bank and IMF 
assistance.  The law aims to provide troubled banks with 
a mechanism to effectively deal with their non- 
performing loans. 
 
¶95.  Credit ratings are mandatory for all banks 
operating in Sri Lanka from January 2004. 
 
--Capital Adequacy 
 
¶96.  Sri Lanka adopted capital adequacy standards set by 
the Basel Committee on banking regulations and 
supervisory practices in 1993.  In 2003, the Central 
Bank raised the minimum capital adequacy standards from 
4.5 to 5 percent for core capital (Tier I) and from 9 to 
10 percent for risk weighted assets (Tier I and Tier 
II).  Further enhancing banking sector stability, the 
Central Bank has also imposed capital adequacy standards 
on foreign currency banking units.  In addition, in 
keeping with Basel Core Principles on effective banking 
supervision, compliance with Capital Adequacy on a 
consolidated basis was introduced in 2003. 
 
¶97.  People's Bank does not meet Capital Adequacy 
Requirements (CAR), but it has a Ministry of Finance 
guarantee for funds required to meet its obligations. 
Bank of Ceylon Tier I CAR was about 12.1 percent in 
¶2003.  Current data on average Capital adequacy of 
private commercial banks is not available, but most of 
them maintain CAR at required levels.  CAR at foreign 
commercial Banks usually exceeds required levels. 
 
Political Violence 
------------------ 
 
¶98.  Since early 2002, there has been a marked 
improvement in the business climate due to the peaceful 
atmosphere prevailing in the country.  This is in 
contrast to the period between 1983-2001, when the 
country was plagued by ethnic conflict, a civil war, and 
related urban terrorism.  The fighting between the 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri 
Lankan military was primarily in northern and eastern 
Sri Lanka, but other parts of the country suffered 
sporadic terrorist attacks.  Since 1997, the LTTE has 
been on the US State Department list of foreign 
terrorist organizations.  Terrorist activities of the 
LTTE have declined since late 2001 when the LTTE and the 
Government signed a formal open-ended cease-fire 
agreement on February 22, 2002.  Following six rounds of 
peace talks with the government of Norway acting as 
facilitator, the LTTE suspended its participation in the 
negotiations in April 2003. 
 
¶99.  Since then, there have been numerous ceasefire 
violations, particularly in the eastern part of the 
country, primarily related to fighting between the LTTE 
and anti-LTTE Tamil groups, including a faction that 
split from the LTTE in 2004.  Government of Sri Lanka 
intelligence officials and informants have also been 
targeted.  In July 2004, there was a suicide bombing in 
a Colombo police station following a failed 
assassination attempt against an anti-LTTE Tamil 
minister.  Five people (including the bomber) were 
killed.  Despite these incidents, the ceasefire largely 
holds, and both sides have publicly committed to its 
maintenance. 
 
¶100.  During the almost 19 years of war, tourists and 
foreign business representatives have not been terrorist 
targets, but they have suffered collateral injuries 
during attacks on other targets.  On July 24, 2001, the 
LTTE attacked the international airport and destroyed 
both commercial and military aircraft.  Several military 
personnel were killed in the attack, military and 
airport employees were injured, and civilians were 
caught in the crossfire.  Sri Lankan Airlines, jointly 
owned by the Government of Sri Lanka and Emirates 
Airlines of Dubai, lost several commercial aircraft in 
the attack.  The LTTE has also attacked several 
commercial ships flying foreign flags in the waters off 
the north and east of the country.  In response to these 
attacks, insurers imposed war risk insurance surcharges 
on aircraft and ships using Sri Lankan seaports and 
airports.  These surcharges have since been lifted. 
During the conflict, the LTTE also detonated several 
large bombs in Colombo's financial and business 
districts, causing numerous casualties and extensive 
damage to property.  Very few foreigners were injured in 
these terrorist incidents due to the LTTE's policy of 
targeting local interests.  There have been no major 
attacks since the peace process began on December 24, 
¶2001.  The LTTE has been implicated in the slayings of 
several anti-LTTE politicians and police informants of 
Tamil heritage since the signing of the ceasefire. 
There have also been several violent incidents at sea. 
 
¶101.  In 1998, the US Peace Corps suspended operations 
in Sri Lanka after LTTE bombings occurred outside the 
Colombo area in  places such as Galle in the south and 
Kandy in the central highlands -- locations where 
volunteers had previously been posted based on the low 
risk of terrorist attacks. 
 
¶102.  The business climate could be threatened by 
increased political uncertainty.  Recently there have 
been protest campaigns against the tsunami 
reconstruction agreement between the Government and the 
LTTE.  Political opinion is strongly divided on the 
agreement.  While the government members laud the 
agreement, the government's former coalition partner, 
the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which is 
opposing the agreement, has organized general strikes 
(hartals) and mass rallies and has taken legal action 
against the agreement, supported by a nationalist 
Buddhist monk group.  The JVP's resignation has left a 
minority government in power.  In addition, government 
moves to restructure state-owned Ceylon Electricity 
Board and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation have also met 
with heavy resistance.  JVP-affiliated trade unions have 
protested against restructuring state owned companies 
and have threatened to strike if the Government moves 
ahead with the substantial restructuring required to 
make them viable.  There is also controversy about the 
term of the Presidency.  The opposition United National 
Party (UNP) has begun campaigns urging the Government to 
call for Presidential elections in 2005. 
 
Corruption 
---------- 
 
¶103.  The country has fairly adequate laws and 
regulations to combat corruption, but they are unevenly 
enforced.  US firms identify corruption as a constraint 
on foreign investment, but, by and large, it is not a 
major threat to operating in Sri Lanka.  Corruption 
appears to have the greatest effect on investors in 
large projects as well as government procurement and 
tendering.  According to Transparency International 
(TI), corruption is most pervasive in terms of political 
appointments to government institutions, in government 
procurement, and in high frequency/ low value 
transactions.  The police force and the judiciary are 
perceived to be the most corrupt public institutions. 
Corruption is also a persistent problem in customs 
clearance and enables wide-scale smuggling of certain 
consumer items, to the detriment of legitimate 
manufacturers and importers. 
 
The Bribery Commission is not very effective 
 
¶104.  The Bribery Commission is the main body 
responsible for investigating allegations of bribery and 
corruption.  The Commission's most recent term expired 
in December 2004, and a new Commission was appointed 
after a 3-month delay in March 2005.  The previous 
Commissions were not effective in dealing with bribery 
or corruption.  The function of the Commission, under 
Act No 19 of 1994, is to investigate allegations brought 
to its attention and to institute proceedings against 
responsible individuals in the appropriate court.  The 
law states that a public official's offer or acceptance 
of a bribe constitutes a criminal offense and carries a 
maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment and a fine 
at the discretion of the courts.  A bribe by a local 
company to a foreign official is not covered by the 
bribery act. 
¶105.  Few have been found guilty of corruption in recent 
years.  Highly publicized efforts to investigate bribery 
and corruption have failed, damaging public confidence 
in such processes.  While corruption charges have been 
leveled against politicians and top officials in charge 
of key government corporations, none of the accused has 
been convicted of bribery yet.  The Commission began 
investigating corruption charges against the former 
Deputy Minister of Defense in 2002, but he is yet to be 
prosecuted.  In December 2004, the commission filed 
corruption charges in courts against another former key 
minister (who ran the Ministry in charge of public 
welfare).  Prosecutions and investigations against some 
former senior public officials are moving slowly or have 
come to an abrupt halt. 
 
¶106.  Sri Lanka ratified the UN Anticorruption 
Convention in March 2004.  Sri Lanka has signed but not 
ratified the UN Convention against Transnational 
Organized Crime.  Sri Lanka is not a signatory to the 
OECD-ADB Anti Corruption Regional Plan. 
 
¶107.  Transparency International (TI), an international 
"watchdog" organization promoting anti-corruption 
strategies, runs a national chapter in Sri Lanka.  In 
TI's Corruption Perception Index for 2004, Sri Lanka was 
ranked 67 among 146 countries with a score of 3.5 out of 
a clean score of 10, reflecting a relatively high 
perceived level of corruption among politicians and 
public officials.  TI's 2003 National Integrity Systems 
Country Report recommends creating an independent anti- 
corruption authority with sufficient powers as a top 
priority to combat corruption.  TI has asked the 
international donor community to ensure transparency and 
clear lines of accountability in the disbursement of 
donor aid for post war reconstruction and post tsunami 
reconstruction. 
 
¶108.  In terms of Economic Freedom, Sri Lanka is ranked 
78 out of 123 countries in Canada's Fraser Institute's 
Economic Freedom of the World ranking released in August 
¶2004.  Sri Lanka earned a score of 6 out of 10 in the 
Economic Freedom Index.  This ranking is derived on the 
basis of 21 components categorized under the following 5 
major indicators:  (1) size of government; (2) legal 
structure and security of property rights; (3) access to 
sound money; (4) freedom to trade internationally; and 
(5) regulation of credit, labor and business. 
 
Bilateral Investment Agreements 
------------------------------- 
 
¶109.  The Government of Sri Lanka has signed an 
Investment Protection Agreements with the United States 
(which came into force in May 1993) and the following 
countries: 
 
¶1.  Belgium 
¶2.  People's Republic of China 
¶3.  Denmark 
¶4.  Egypt 
¶5.  Finland 
¶6.  France 
¶7.  Germany 
¶8.  Indonesia 
¶9.  India 
¶10. Iran 
¶11. Italy 
¶12. Japan 
¶13. Korea 
¶14. Luxembourg 
¶15. Malaysia 
¶16. Netherlands 
¶17. Norway 
¶18. Romania 
¶19. Singapore 
¶20. Sweden 
¶21. Switzerland 
¶22. Thailand 
¶23. United Kingdom 
 
Taxation 
-------- 
 
¶110.  A bilateral treaty between Sri Lanka and the 
United States to avoid double taxation was ratified and 
entered into force on June 12, 2004. 
 
¶111.  Foreign investors not qualifying for Board of 
Investment incentives such as tax and exchange control 
exemptions or concessions will be liable to pay taxes on 
corporate profits, dividends, and remittances of 
profits.  They will also be liable to pay a 15 percent 
Value Added Tax on goods and services.  The government 
has also imposed a tax of 0.1 percent on debits to any 
current or savings account maintained at any bank in Sri 
Lanka.  Debits made to accounts of government and 
international organizations are excluded.  Accounts 
maintained at Foreign Currency Banking Units, accounts 
maintained for stock exchange transactions (SIERA), and 
resident and non-resident foreign currency accounts are 
exempted from the tax.  The Embassy encourages 
prospective US investors to contact an international 
auditing firm operating in Sri Lanka to assess their tax 
liability. 
 
OPIC and Other Investment Insurance Programs 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶112.  The US and Sri Lanka concluded in 1966 (and 
renewed in 1993) an agreement that allows the Overseas 
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to provide 
investment insurance guarantees for US investors.  OPIC 
currently provides coverage to banking and power sector 
investments in Sri Lanka.  Sri Lanka's membership in the 
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) offers 
the opportunity for insurance against non-commercial 
risks. 
 
¶113.   The US Embassy and other US Government 
institutions spend over $21 million annually in Sri 
Lanka.  This amount can potentially be utilized by OPIC 
to honor an inconvertibility claim; however, no such 
claims have been made to date in Sri Lanka.  The Embassy 
purchases local currency at the financial rate.  The Sri 
Lankan Rupee has fluctuated against major foreign 
currencies during past 12 months.  The currency is not 
expected to fluctuate by more than 10 percent relative 
to the US dollar over the next year. 
 
Labor 
----- 
 
--Labor Force 
 
¶114.  Sri Lanka's labor force is literate and trainable, 
although weak in certain technical skills and the 
English language.  More computer and business skills 
training programs and English language programs are 
becoming available.  But the demand still outpaces 
supply, and many qualified workers seek employment 
overseas.  The average worker has eight years of 
schooling. 
 
¶115.  Two-thirds of the labor force is male.  The 
unemployment rate (employment is defined as one who 
worked for pay, profit, or unpaid family gain for one or 
more hours during the survey week) in the third quarter 
of 2004 was 8.5 percent, with an estimated 678,600 of a 
total labor force of 8 million out of work.  (Labor 
force data excludes some areas in the Northern Province, 
armed forces personnel deployed away from home, and Sri 
Lankan migrant workers abroad.)  If one does not count 
unpaid family workers as employed, the unemployment rate 
is higher.  Youth and entry level unemployment remains a 
critical problem.  Nearly 80 percent of unemployed 
persons are in the 15-29 year age range.  Over 50 
percent of unemployed young people are educated at the 
Ordinary-Level (British System equivalent of US 10th 
grade) or higher.  Underemployment is also a major 
problem, with thousands of university graduates seeking 
places in the already bloated public sector, yet lacking 
skills needed in the private sector. 
 
¶116.  A significant proportion of unemployed people seek 
"white collar" jobs, and most sectors seeking employees 
offer manual or semi-skilled jobs or require technical 
or professional skills such as management, marketing, 
information technology, accountancy and finance, and the 
English language.  Following pledges during April 2004 
parliamentary elections, the government has initiated 
several programs to expand state sector employment.  For 
instance, a graduate employment program is expected to 
provide about 42,000 new jobs in the government sector. 
 
¶117.  The government has recognized the challenge of 
reformulating the educational system to meet the needs 
of the private sector better, but it will take time 
before the mismatch of skills to requirements is 
addressed.  The Asian Development Bank and the World 
Bank have recently approved projects to improve distance 
learning and tertiary education.  The private sector is 
offering various professional study courses accredited 
to local and foreign professional institutes and foreign 
universities.  However, access to these courses is 
limited due to the high fees involved.  However, a fair 
number of Sri Lankans do study abroad as well. 
 
--Migrant Workers Abroad 
 
¶118.  There are an estimated 970,000 Sri Lankan workers 
abroad.  The majority of the labor is unskilled 
(housemaids and factory laborers) and located primarily 
in the Middle East.  Sri Lanka is also losing many of 
its technically and professionally qualified workers to 
more lucrative jobs abroad. 
 
--Labor Regulations, Cost of Labor 
 
¶119.  Labor is available at a relatively low cost, 
though it is priced higher than in other South Asian 
countries.  Child labor is prohibited and is virtually 
nonexistent in the organized sector, though child labor 
occurs in informal sectors.  The minimum legal age for 
employment is set at 14.  Most permanent full-time 
workers are covered by laws pertaining to maximum hours 
of work, minimum wage, leave, the right of association, 
and safety and health standards.  The Termination of 
Employment Act (TEA) makes it difficult to fire or lay 
off workers who have been employed more than six months 
for any reason other than serious, well-documented 
disciplinary problems.  Disputes over dismissals can be 
brought to a labor tribunal administered by the Ministry 
of Justice.  The labor tribunals have large backlogs of 
unresolved cases.  Certain labor disputes founded upon 
fundamental rights (allegations of termination/transfers 
based upon discrimination, etc.) can be brought directly 
to the Supreme Court. 
 
¶120.  There is widespread belief that the labor laws and 
a plethora of holidays are dampening productivity.  The 
full moon day of each month, if it falls on a weekday, 
is a paid holiday.  There are also eight other public 
holidays.  The public sector and banks enjoy additional 
holidays.  The statutory holidays are in addition to 21 
days annual/casual leave and approximately 21 days sick 
leave (number of days for sick leave is at the 
discretion of the management).  In addition, female 
employees are entitled to 84 days fully paid maternity 
leave for the first two pregnancies.  The 2005 budget 
proposed additional maternity leave benefits, but they 
are yet to be implemented.  Female workers are permitted 
60 hours of overtime work per month. 
--Termination laws 
 
¶121.  The Termination of Employment Act (TEA) makes it 
difficult to fire or lay off workers.  In January 2003, 
under the previous government's labor reform agenda, the 
Parliament passed amendments to the TEA and the 
Industrial Disputes Act (IDA) to improve labor mobility. 
The amendments to TEA seek to facilitate termination and 
provided for a standard compensation formula and an 
unemployment benefit scheme.  Amendments to the IDA 
included labor dispute resolution rules to expedite the 
dispute process.  Implementation of these new laws was 
delayed until the establishment of a new compensation 
formula and a new unemployment insurance scheme, which 
were finally announced in March 2005.  The compensation 
formula takes into account the number of years of 
service and offers 2.5 months salary as compensation for 
5 years; 22.5 months for 10 years; and up to a maximum 
of 48 months salary for 34 years service.  In addition, 
an unemployment benefit insurance scheme would provide 
12 months salary.  The Labor Commissioner's approval is 
required to fire workers.  Employers have shown 
reluctance to accept this formula and complain that the 
package is excessive, especially compared to 
international norms.  They have also pointed out that 
higher compensation could adversely affect companies 
requiring restructuring and discourage investment. 
 
¶122.  Other planned reforms include amendments to the 
Shop and Office Act to allow female employees in the IT 
sector to work at night.  A more systematic overhaul of 
the TEA and IDA would help to bring labor laws in line 
with international norms. 
 
--Trade Unions 
 
¶123.  About 15 percent of labor in the industry and 
service sector is unionized.  Labor in free trade zone 
enterprises tends to be represented by non-union worker 
councils. 
 
¶124.  Unions have complained that the BOI and some 
employers, especially in the BOI-run export processing 
zones (EPZ), prohibit union access and do not register 
unions on a timely basis.  Employers allege that the 
JVP, a Marxist political party against private 
ownership, could provoke labor to strike in the guise of 
trade union activity.  Due to the JVP's violent past, 
employers are generally not in favor of it or its trade 
union arm, the Inter-Company Trade Union. 
 
¶125.  The Government continues to take steps to improve 
enforcement of labor regulations inside EPZs.  In BOI 
enterprises, including those in the EPZs, worker 
councils composed of employees generally provide for 
labor and management negotiations.  These worker 
councils have functioned well in some companies in 
providing for worker welfare.  The BOI has requested 
that companies recognize trade unions and accept the 
right to collective bargaining.  According to the BOI, 
where both a recognized trade union with bargaining 
power and a non-union worker council exist in an 
enterprise, the trade union will represent the employees 
in collective bargaining. 
 
¶126.  The ILO Freedom of Association Committee has 
observed that trade unions and employee councils can co- 
exist, but advises that there should not be any 
discrimination against those employees choosing to join 
a union.  The right of employee councils to engage in 
collective bargaining has been held as valid by the ILO. 
The ILO has, however, noted weaknesses in rules 
governing operation of employee councils and low 
prevalence of collective bargaining agreements and 
requested that the Government carry out improvements. 
 
¶127.  In response to these observations, the BOI revised 
its labor manual in March 2004, requesting companies 
located in EPZs to allow union access to zones and 
provide official time off to union members to attend 
meetings.  Along with this revision, the BOI also issued 
new guidelines for the formation and operation of 
employee councils, giving powers to employee councils to 
negotiate binding collective agreements. 
 
¶128.  In 2002, the American Federation of Labor and 
Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) submitted 
a petition to the United States Trade Representative 
seeking suspension of Generalized System of Preferences 
(GSP) benefits for Sri Lanka due to labor rights 
violations in some factories in the export processing 
zones.  This petition was not acted upon.  A similar 
submission was made to the EU by a local trade union 
when Sri Lanka applied for benefits under the special 
incentive arrangements of the GSP.  After an audit, the 
EU, in January 2004, granted significant benefits to Sri 
Lanka under EU GSP in recognition of the country's 
efforts to implement core labor standards because the 
audit did not find serious problems with regard to those 
standards.  The EU, however, observed the need for 
further improvements in freedom of association. 
 
¶129.  In the plantation sector, union participation 
rates are as high as 75 percent, though unionization 
levels are reportedly on the decline.  Key public sector 
entities such as the Ceylon Electricity Board and Sri 
Lanka Ports Authority also have large unions which stage 
protests, often to obtain pay hikes and sometimes to 
protest anticipated moves towards privatization or 
restructuring.  Most of the major trade unions are 
affiliated with political parties, creating a highly 
politicized labor environment.  In what is seen as a 
positive development, several trade unions with 
affiliations to major political parties have formed 
themselves into an organized group, the National 
Association for Trade Union Research and Education 
(NATURE), to promote education and training among trade 
unionists. 
 
¶130.  The growing strength of Marxist parties in active 
politics and in parliament has increased politicized 
union activity.  State agencies with large unionized 
workforces have become vulnerable to politically 
motivated strikes in response to restructuring and 
privatization. 
 
--Collective Bargaining 
 
¶131.  Collective bargaining is not yet popular.  While 
more than half of the Employers' Federation of Ceylon's 
(EFC's) 435-strong membership is unionized, currently 
only about 50 of these companies (including a number of 
foreign-owned firms) have collective agreements and use 
them to conduct negotiations on their behalf.  Civil 
servants other than officers in the police, armed 
forces, and prison service, also have a right to strike. 
 
--Labor-Management Relations 
 
¶132.  Labor-management relations in the past have been 
by and large confrontational.  This is due to a failure 
to recognize the need for a social partnership for 
mutual benefit.  The attitude of employers towards 
workers has changed considerably in the last few years. 
Employers are becoming more conscious of the need to 
look after their human resources, and more effort is 
taken to ensure that workers feel motivated and cared 
for.  Labor-management relations vary from organization 
to organization; managers who emphasize communication 
with workers and offer training opportunities generally 
experience fewer difficulties.  US investors in Sri 
Lanka (including US garment buyers) generally promote 
good labor management relations and labor conditions 
that exceed local standards.  A few large Sri Lankan 
firms have started Employee Share Option plans.  Work 
stoppages and strikes in the private sector have been on 
a decline in the past six months. 
 
--ILO conventions 
 
¶133.  Sri Lanka is a member of the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) and has ratified 39 international 
labor conventions.  The labor laws of Sri Lanka are laid 
out in almost 50 different statutes.  The Ministry of 
Labor has published a Labor Code, consolidating 
important labor legislation.  Sri Lanka has ratified all 
eight of the core labor conventions included in the 1998 
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principals and Rights at 
Work.  ILO Convention 138 on minimum age for admission 
to employment and Convention 182 on worst forms of child 
labor were ratified during 2000-2001.  Sri Lanka 
ratified ILO convention 105 on Forced Labor in 2003. 
The ILO, EFC and the AFL-CIO-sponsored American Center 
for Labor Solidarity are working to improve awareness 
about core labor standards.  The ILO also promotes its 
Decent Work Agenda program in Sri Lanka. 
 
Foreign Trade Zones 
------------------- 
 
¶134.  Sri Lanka has 10 free trade zones, also called 
export-processing zones, administered by the BOI.  The 
oldest, the Katunayake and Biyagama Zones, located north 
of Colombo near the Bandaranaike International Airport, 
are fully occupied.  The third zone is located at 
Koggala on the southern coast.  Several new mini export- 
processing zones were opened in the provinces during the 
last few years.  There are nearly 200 foreign export 
processing enterprises operating in these zones.  There 
are also two industrial parks that have both export- 
oriented and non-export oriented factories.  They are 
located in Pallekelle, near Kandy in central Sri Lanka 
and in Seethawaka in Avissawela about 60 kilometers from 
Colombo. 
 
¶135.  In the past, industrialists preferred to locate 
their factories in close proximity to Colombo harbor or 
airport to reduce transport cost and save time.  The 
excessive concentration of industries around Colombo has 
created problems such as scarcity of labor, inadequate 
infrastructure, environmental pollution, escalation of 
real estate prices, and congestion in the city.  Now, 
the BOI actively encourages the establishment of export- 
oriented factories in the newly developed industrial 
zones.  The BOI also finds it easier to provide 
infrastructure facilities and security, as well as to 
monitor enterprises, when they are located in the zones. 
However, the limitations of transportation 
infrastructure may make some distant zones somewhat less 
appealing. 
 
Foreign Direct Investment 
------------------------- 
 
--US Investments 
 
¶136.  Major US companies with investments in Sri Lanka 
include:  Energizer Battery, Mast Industries, Smart 
Shirts (a subsidiary of Kellwood Industries), Chevron 
(Caltex), Citibank, Caterpillar, 3M, Cargill, Coca Cola, 
Celetronix, Inc, Paxar Corporation, Pepsi Co, Sportif, 
Worldquest, Fitch IBCR, AES Corporation, American 
International Group (AIG), and American Premium Water. 
In addition, IBM, Lanier, NCR, GTE, Motorola, Procter & 
Gamble, Liz Claiborne, May Department Stores, Federated 
Department Stores, Tommy Hilfiger, J.C. Penney, the Gap, 
Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Bates Strategic Alliance, 
McCann-Erickson, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Ernst and 
Young, and KPMG all have branches, affiliated offices or 
local distributors/representatives.  Kentucky Fried 
Chicken, Pizza Hut, Federal Express, UPS, and McDonald's 
are represented in Sri Lanka through franchises. 
Numerous other American brands and products are 
represented by local agents. 
 
¶137.  US investment in Sri Lanka is estimated to be in 
the range of $200 million.  Among the recent investors 
in the power sector are AES Corporation and Caterpillar. 
AIG insurance entered Sri Lanka in 1999.  Other foreign 
companies in Sri Lanka are expanding, such as Celetronix 
Inc (memory boards), Citibank, and Mast Inc (apparel and 
related products).  During the past few years, several 
US companies have formed joint ventures or other 
partnerships with Sri Lankan companies in the IT sector, 
mainly in software development. 
 
--Non-US Investments 
 
¶138.  Major non-US investors include: Unilever, Nestle, 
British American Tobacco Company, Mitsui, Pacific 
Dunlop/Ansell, Prima, FDK, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, and 
S.P. Tao.  Leading US and foreign investors that have 
acquired significant stakes in privatized companies 
include Caltex, Norsk Hydro of Norway, Hanjung Steel of 
Korea, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph, Mitsubishi 
Corporation and C. Itoh (A.K.A. Itochu) of Japan, 
Emirates Airlines of United Arab Emirates, Shell Oil of 
the UK, P&O Netherlands, and the Indian Oil Corporation 
(IOC) 
 
¶139.  Reliable statistics on foreign investment by country 
are not available.  Leading sources of foreign investments 
are Singapore, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Hong 
Kong, and Australia.  FDI in 2004 was about $200 million. 
Lunstead