Sri Lankan tycoon appointed minister for investment promotion

Sri Lanka's president on Friday appointed tycoon Dhammika Perera as minister for investment promotion, his office said in a statement, as the crisis-hit country struggles to find foreign exchange to import essentials including food, fuel and drugs.

A major Sri Lankan investor who holds stakes in dozens of companies, Perera replaced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's brother in parliament earlier this month after he stepped down from his nominated seat.