These agreements provide for the following:

· Protection against nationalization.

· Prompt and adequate compensation, if required.

· Free remittance of earnings, capital and business fees.

· Settlement of disputes under the International Convention for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Bilateral agreements exist between Sri Lanka and the following countries : Belgium, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Protection of Intellectual property

The laws relating to copyright, industrial designs, patents, trade marks, service marks, trade names and unfair competition are covered by the Code of Intellectual Property Act of 1978 and subsequent amendments.

Arbitration

An Arbitration Centre has been established in Colombo for the settlement of commercial disputes expeditiously, economically and privately. A new law has already been enacted for this purpose. the Centre will be affiliated with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and will follow its standards and norms.

The Arbitration Act gives recognition to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. this means that arbitration awards made abroad are now enforceable in Sri Lanka. Similarly, awards made in Sri Lanka can be enforced abroad.

Remittance of Earnings and Capital

By mid 1994, Sri Lanka had removed all foreign exchange restrictions on current account transactions. the monetary authorities are moving towards further liberalizing exchange controls.

Within this liberal environment, foreign investors can freely remit dividends, capital or royalty payment through any commercial bank, as well as the sale proceeds of shares. (As stated earlier, for qualifying investments, the BOI is authorized to exempt companies from the provisions of the Exchange Control Act).

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