“We are targeting USD 5 billion by 2020. The total FDI in 2016 was USD 801 million.”

Addressing on breakfast meeting in Colombo recently he said that after a drop in FDI there has been a ‘pickup’ in 2017.

He said that in the first quarter of 2017 the country attracted USD 216 million and it increased to USD 332 million in the second quarter. The third quarter FDI inflows were USD 443 million.

He said that they are also expecting a mega Japanese investment which would be over Rs. 1 billion and also several other projects.

He also said that they will only look at ethical and environmental friendly projects and would not approve unethical projects.

There was a recycle project for scrap metal for a sizable investment but we did not approve it since we found that the local value additional was minimal and it has environmental issues as well.”