3 int’l banks in talks to establish offshore operations in Colombo Port City

COLOMBO, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) — Three international banking corporations are in discussions to establish offshore operations in Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City, according to a press release from CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd. on Wednesday.
The company noted that discussions are also underway with seven local banks.
Recently, Sri Lanka’s parliament approved two gazetted regulations, which, the company said, will offer potential investors a range of attractive benefits for setting up offshore banking operations.
The new regulations will further enhance the Colombo Port City Special Economic Zone’s fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, which include significant tax exemptions for over 25 years, full repatriation of capital and profits, and 100 percent foreign ownership, the press release said.
According to a statement from the Department of Government Information in July, international accounting firms estimated that the Port City could attract up to 15 billion U.S. dollars in investments. ■