COLOMBO, Apr 6: The International Finance Corporation (1FC), the World Bank's private investment arm, will more than double its Investment in Sri Lanka to 200 million US dollars In the next 12 to 18 months, the official Dally News reported today, reports Xinhua.

"The Increased investments will be mainly focused on the financial sector of the country." IFC's South Asia Director Bernard Pasquier was quoted as saying.

The 1FC is exploring the possibility of setting up an investment bank dedicated to government and corporate debt securities and is also working on new debenture Issues to diversify the issuer base, said Pasquier.

The IFC's current investment portfolio in Sri Lanka was 86.4 million dollars.