On November 2019, the BOI signed the agreement citing the ‘largest-ever’ FDI worth $ 24 billion by Hambantota Oil Refinery an affiliate company to Sugih Energy International which is a privately-owned petroleum and coal trading company based in Singapore

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the termination of what was once described as the ‘largest-ever foreign direct investment agreement between the Board of Investment (BOI) and Hambantota Oil Refinery after over there years of protracted inaction to fulfil the stipulations of the contract.

On 17 September 2019, the project was approved by the Cabinet to form a strategic partnership to set up a petroleum refinery with a 420,000 barrels/day capacity for export markets with an investment of around $ 24 billion, over a period of 60 months in a vast expanse of 1,200 acres of land allocated on a 50-year long-term lease basis, making it the largest FDI project to date