Since I lived in Sri Lanka and started my business here, I would have to say that this is, by far, one of the most common questions asked by other foreigners who want to move here, and that question is the following. How to get started A business in Sri Lanka.?
It is really a very simple process, I think that what confuses people is the lack of online information on how to do it, and besides, a lot of the information is really wrong! I will start by saying this: NO Needy you need a local business partner, and NO, you do not need to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the country, these are myths that are based on certain situations that may require these things, but in your situation, this It might not be the case.
Fully reserved areas for sri Lankan's
(foreigners cannot participate in these activities)
Money loan that is not the business of providing credits to investors to buy values of a company listed by a company registered as a provider of margin under the sec law
Stone broker
Coastal fishing
Retail trade with an investment less than us $ 1 million
Provision of security services, including the assessment and security management consulting to persons or private organizations
Areas in which only 40% foreign property is allowed
(if more than 40% required special approval required case by case)
- Shipping agencies
- Travel agency
- Freight transport
- Education
- Mass communication
- Fishing (deep sea fishing)
- Wood-based industries that use local wood
- Primary crop and processing of rubber tea coco cacao spices rice and sugar
- Mining and primary processing of non-renewable natural resources
- Production of products where sri Lanka exports are subject to internationally determined quotation restrictions.
- Great scale of mechanized mining of gems
- Lotteries
- Any industry that produces currency, coins or security documents
- Any industry manufacturing hazardous drugs, narcotic poisons hazardous or carcinogenic toxic material alcohols
- Any industry manufacturing weapons, ammunition, explosives, military vehicles and
- Equipment, aircraft and other military hardware.
- Air transport
- Coastal shipping
Areas where 100% foreign property is allowed
Different industries in Sri Lanka have a different set of regulations regarding what percentage of a company can be owned by a foreigner, some industries do not allow any type of foreign ownership, some allow a maximum of 40% and others allow 100% To be owned by a foreigner. Below is a list of industries and what percentage of foreign ownership is allowed.
ANY INDUSTRY OTHER THAN THE 3 PREVIOUS CATEGORIES
As you can see, there are certain restrictions depending on the industry in which you want to do business. If you want to open a small retail company and be 100% of the shareholders, there are restrictions that do not allow it, since Small retail companies are reserved for the citizens of Sri Lanka. On the other hand, if you want to open, say ... a boxing gym (like yours really), then this can be done very easily, with little headache, and you can be the only shareholder.
Another thing to keep in mind is that all foreign-owned companies must have a local company secretary, which, in all honesty, personally I think is a great thing, as long as I can find a reliable and professional secretary to use. In general, most law firms and accountants will also act as company secretary for you as one of their services. You can find several online, however, I would definitely recommend who I use for my business, which you can find here:
I strongly recommend that your company secretary set up your business instead of doing all the steps yourself. There are several steps to follow, which personally, I think it is better to have someone who knows what you are doing to handle it for you. I have run a number of companies in Australia and it was still a great decision to spend that extra amount of money and have the registration process managed, instead of having to deal with the headache in a foreign country. !
Another way to set up a company here is through the BOI (Board of Investment). My knowledge about this is limited since I did not follow this path, however, I will tell you what I learned and see if it may be a more suitable option for you.
The BOI is designed as a 'Go To' place for foreign investors working on large scale projects in the country. To my understanding, in order to setup a company through the BOI, you must make an investment of a minimum of $250,000 USD into the company. Obviously this is a very large amount of money for a lot of people (myself being one of them) which is why I did not go down this road.
There are a number of favorable benefits to be had by setting up through the BOI, such as tax benefits and access to information for setting up your company in sri Lanka that you would otherwise need to be doing a lot of research to find. You will also be automatically issued an investment residence visa, which lasts for 3 years and can be renewed afterwards, which is not the case with taking the other option.
