Banks will soon begin operations at Port City Colombo following the gazetting of offshore banking regulations, positioning the area to become a significant financial hub. On July 26, regulations titled “Offshore Banking and Offshore Banking — Prudent Management and Confidence” were officially gazetted, enabling commercial operations within the Special Economic Zone’s area of authority.
These offshore banking regulations highlight Port City Colombo’s readiness for business activity and its potential emergence as a regional offshore financial center in South Asia, according to Port City Colombo.
“This core set of regulations will lay the foundation for Port City Colombo’s progressive, business-friendly environment. This milestone will further bolster global investor confidence and encourage increased foreign direct investment inflows into the Sri Lankan economy,” stated Xiong Hongfeng, Managing Director of CHEC Port City Colombo.
The regulations allow commercial entities to engage in a variety of permitted offshore banking activities, including transactions in designated foreign currencies with other offshore units or non-residents, acceptance of savings, time, and demand deposits in designated foreign currencies from authorized persons or non-residents, borrowing in foreign currencies from non-residents, and other transactions authorized by the Colombo Port Economic Commission in concurrence with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Eligible entities for offshore banking licenses include:
- Companies incorporated in Sri Lanka and licensed under the Banking Act as licensed commercial banks.
- Companies incorporated outside Sri Lanka and registered in Sri Lanka as offshore companies under the Companies Act, No. 07 of 2007, while also being licensed under the Banking Act.
- Companies incorporated outside Sri Lanka, registered in Sri Lanka as offshore companies, and licensed to engage in banking under another country’s laws, even if not licensed under the Banking Act in Sri Lanka.
