Revan Wickramasuriya
Parliament has approved the prudent management and preliminary regulations applicable for banking business to be carried out from the special economic zone in the Colombo Port City (CPC), said COO / Director Financial Services and Compliance, Colombo Port City Economic Commission, Revan Wickramasuriya.
“The Banking regulations will ensure the creation of a truly business-enabling environment and financial centre under the direct supervision and oversight of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Financial Intelligence Unit.
“This will also ensure the adherence to all anti money laundering regulations. Currently we have over 100 businesses exploring the possibility of operating from this special economic zone and around 74 businesses have already obtained licenses and over 25 businesses in the process of being licensed.”
The development of the Business Centre which broke ground in March this year is scheduled to open in November and a number of these businesses are already booked to commence operating from it.
“The setting up of an international standard marina is going through completion of the plan clearance process and the social infrastructure developments of the school, university and hospital with globally recognised brands with a combined investment of approximately USD 200 million are all on track to commence development work over the coming months.”
He said that the present Port city venue was a reclaimed piece of land in 2018. The creation of the special economic zone law in 2021, the passing of key regulations over the past two years and the vertical constructions coming to life are all a part of a journey towards creating a regionally competitive financial and tech hub that will be a catalyst to transform the economy.
Commenting on the opening of the much awaited and long overdue Mall and Downtown Duty free complex on Thursday, he said that visitors will get a broad experience of retail shopping- food and beverage provided by world-renowned operators.
The duty-free section of this mall will boost tourism to Sri Lanka and is being anchored by a world leading travel and retail operator, China Duty Free – a company with a global turn over of over USD10 billion, collaborations with over 1,000 international brands, servicing over 20 million domestic and foreign tourists.
A world class operator of this size and stature entering our island nation at this time – is a clear mark of the confidence foreign investors are having on the back of the stable and forward thinking policy decisions made by this government over the past two years.
The duty-free experience will be further enhanced with ODF a Singapore based retail operator and Flemingo Duty Free – a large retail operator in India, the Middle East and Africa.
This 7,000 square metre retail mall will transition into the USD 500 million Colombo International Financial Centre that is to break ground later this year.
This world class development will host approximately 52,000 square metres of grade A office space, 23,000 square metres of retail space and 85,000 square metres of high-end residential spaces.
“This new development points to a bright new era for all Sri Lankans and we should be proud of it,” he said.
