A Singaporean company that had invested in a foam mattress manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka is considering shutting down operations, accusing the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI) of obstructing its operations.
Addressing the media, representatives of Honour Global Industries said that the company had requested permission from the BOI in 2023 to set up the foam mattress manufacturing plant in Sri Lanka with an investment of US$ 08 million.
They said permission was sought for the factory to annually manufacture around 2.5 million foam mattresses in Sri Lanka and export to various other countries.
However, the representatives said that some time after receiving the necessary approval in March 2024, the BOI had informed in writing that exports to the USA will be restricted to 50,000 mattresses per year.
“We cannot operate a factory for such a small number of mattresses. Both the BOI and the Monetary Board have been dragging this matter for the last six months. Almost 500 employees face losing their jobs due to this situation,” one representative said.
He further said that production has been halted at the factory for the last 06 months, with the company incurring a loss of US$ 300,000 per month.
“We have repeatedly requested these officials to give us the necessary guidelines to continue operations and exports. We have said, if that is not possible, to provide us the legal course to shut down operations,” he said.
Another representative alleged that the BOI and Monetary Board were chasing away investors by making unreasonable demands, adding that people are being unnecessarily hassled by them.
Also speaking to the media, another company representative said the BOI has refused to address the matter despite the President’s Office having sent relevant recommendations for the factory to continue operations. (Newswire)