Public Consultation on Foreign Investment Reserved List Review Concluded

Honiara, 29 September 2026: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour & Immigration (MCILI), through its Foreign Investment Division (InvestSolomons), successfully convened its official public consultation program on the review of the Foreign Investment Reserved List.

Held at the SSEC Church Hall in Honiara, the session brought together key business partners, local entrepreneurs, and industry representatives to deliberate on pivotal regulatory updates.

The consultation forms part of the mandatory legislative review cycle under Section 10 of the Foreign Investment Act 2005 and Schedule 2 of the Foreign Investment Regulations. The primary goal is to evaluate existing protection measures for local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) while aligning foreign investment parameters with current national economic priorities.

The morning session was officially opened with welcome remarks and a keynote address by Permanent Secretary Mr Riley Mesepitu. Following the address, technical officers from InvestSolomons presented the core proposals to the public.

The presentation focused on three key updates:

• More Businesses Reserved for Locals: Adding specific types of commercial activities to a protected list so that only Solomon Islands citizens can own and operate them.
• Updating the Business List: Cleaning up and updating existing categories by removing outdated business activities to better reflect today’s market realities.
• New Investment Limits for Foreigners: Adjusting the minimum financial investment requirements for foreign investors to ensure maximum economic benefit for the country.

A major focus of the session was explaining these three key proposals to participants, gathering their practical feedback, and determining whether their current business activities fall under Section 9 of the Foreign Investment Act 2005 (which defines and governs reserved business activities).

Local enterprise owners, foreign investors, Relevant Government agencies and industry partners actively engaged in the open discussion, providing valuable field-level perspectives.

To ensure broad stakeholder involvement across provinces, InvestSolomons confirmed that the next leg of public consultations will be held in Guadalcanal Province.

Members of the business community, sector associations, and the general public are invited to submit written views on the proposed changes before the final policy submission.

SUBMISSION DETAILS & DEADLINES:

• Submission Deadline: Wednesday, 30th September 2026
• Email Submissions: Ldawheyal@commerce.gov.sb | STuranga@commerce.gov.sb
• Physical Deliveries: Foreign Investment Division, Company Haus Building, Honiara