The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka has launched a digital investment platform called “Ready to Invest,” putting more than $3 billion worth of structured, investor-ready projects across eight priority sectors directly in front of prospective foreign investors as the country works to convert a recovering FDI story into sustained long-term capital inflows.
Sri Lanka recorded around $1.06 billion in FDI inflows during 2025, marking a sharp increase from the previous year amid improving macroeconomic conditions and stabilisation efforts. Approximately $1.9 billion worth of BOI-approved projects are ready to commence operations. The 2025 figure represents the first time foreign investments in the country crossed the billion-dollar threshold. The Ready to Invest platform is an attempt to translate that momentum into a structured pipeline rather than leaving investor prospecting to informal channels.
The platform provides direct access to more than 30 investor-ready projects. Urban, residential, and mixed-use developments account for the largest investment pipeline at $970 million, followed by manufacturing projects at $650 million, tourism and leisure opportunities at $400 million, and transport and logistics projects at $385 million. ICT, innovation, and technology park developments account for a further $280 million, while renewable energy and sustainable utilities projects are valued at $210 million and agriculture and agro-processing projects at $104 million.
The spread of sectors is deliberate. Investments are diversifying into high-value niches including information and communication technology, renewable energy, and a broader Green and Digital Economy mandate that includes the 2030 Digital Economy Strategy. Within the technology segment, the BOI is promoting Sri Lanka as a regional digital innovation and IT services hub supported by an estimated 175,000 skilled professionals and a growing startup ecosystem.
Among the manufacturing projects on the platform is a proposed textile manufacturing zone in the Eastern Province comprising multiple export-oriented facilities aimed at strengthening backward integration within Sri Lanka’s apparel industry and reducing dependence on imported textile inputs. A proposed $80 million active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facility is also featured, positioned to support pharmaceutical exports and regional supply chain diversification.
The logistics and maritime infrastructure category highlights the country’s strategic location along major Indian Ocean shipping routes, while the tourism and leisure segment is positioned around Sri Lanka’s recovery in tourist arrivals and year-round destination potential.
The numbers behind the 2025 FDI rebound offer useful context for what the platform is trying to build on. Sri Lanka recorded a 72% increase in FDI inflows in 2025 compared to 2024, with manufacturing accounting for 46% of total inflows, port development 26%, and tourism 11%. Singapore, India, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg ranked among the leading source countries. However, the same data also reveals the structural challenge the BOI is working against: with Sri Lanka’s economy valued at over $80 billion, annual FDI inflows at roughly 1% of GDP remain modest against the country’s ambitions and in comparison with several fast-growing Asian peers where the ratio is several times higher.
BOI Chairman Arjuna Herath has attributed the FDI rebound to new policy frameworks, streamlined facilitation processes, and improved investor confidence via good governance, noting that the strong performance reflects the global investor community’s growing trust in Sri Lanka’s economic trajectory.
The BOI said the Ready to Invest initiative is intended to improve investor access to structured and project-ready opportunities while strengthening transparency and investment facilitation through digitalisation. The launch comes as Sri Lanka attempts to rebuild investor confidence following the economic crisis and debt restructuring period, while competing with regional economies for export-oriented, technology-linked, and supply chain diversification investments.
The platform represents a shift in approach for investment promotion. Rather than waiting for investors to navigate a fragmented landscape of sector agencies and government ministries, the BOI is presenting pre-packaged, sector-sorted opportunities with indicative valuations attached. Whether the pipeline translates into signed agreements and operational projects will depend on how quickly facilitation catches up with promotion, historically the point where Sri Lanka’s investment attraction efforts have lost ground.
