en.Wedoany.com Reported - Dimension News, May 22 – The Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Sampath Bank officially signed agreements to settle in Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka. Earlier this year, both banks submitted applications to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to establish branches in Port City and recently obtained the relevant licenses, becoming the first banking institutions authorized to conduct business in the area.

The significance of these banking institutions settling in Colombo Port City centers on the "implementation of financial functions." Port City is positioned as a Special Economic Zone geared towards international business, financial services, and high-end urban functions. A significant amount of preliminary work focused on land reclamation, infrastructure, municipal supporting facilities, investment promotion systems, and the construction of a regulatory framework. Only with the actual entry of commercial banks into the zone will there be an offline carrier for basic financial functions such as corporate account opening and registration, cross-border settlement, trade financing, foreign currency operations, deposits and loans, fund transfers, and investment services. The Commercial Bank of Ceylon disclosed that it plans to establish a full-service branch in Colombo Port City, serving enterprises, investors, commercial institutions, and retail customers within the zone. Its business scope will cover digital banking, trade services, foreign currency transactions, corporate banking, deposits, loans, bank cards, and remittances.

Colombo Port City is an extension area of Sri Lanka's capital central business district, with a total planned area of approximately 269 hectares. It is positioned as a multi-service Special Economic Zone, aiming to become a regional financial center, business hub, and lifestyle integrated complex. The project developer views the entry of financial institutions as a critical step for the zone to achieve genuine operational depth, as banking services directly relate to whether enterprises can conduct daily fund management, cross-border transactions, and investment activities within Port City. For potential settling enterprises, bank branches and offshore financial services are not just supporting decorations but fundamental conditions for judging whether the zone can handle international business.

Behind the issuance of banking licenses is the gradual formation of Port City's offshore financial regulatory regime. Colombo Port City had previously attracted multiple Sri Lankan commercial banks to apply for establishing offshore banking branches within the Special Economic Zone. The applicant banks include Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, HNB, National Development Bank, Nations Trust Bank, Union Bank, DFCC, Bank of Ceylon, and People's Bank. Port City authorities previously disclosed that these banks would operate under the offshore banking regulatory rules announced on July 26, 2024, serving commercial activities within the zone primarily involving foreign currency transactions, service exports, investment management, and cross-border corporate operations.

For Sri Lanka, Colombo Port City undertakes the tasks of attracting foreign investment, developing service exports, and enhancing the level of financial services. The "Country Guide for Outward Investment and Cooperation" published by the Ministry of Commerce shows that the Colombo Port City project is one of Sri Lanka's larger foreign direct investment projects, with a total first-phase investment of approximately US$1.4 billion, where China Harbour Engineering Company is responsible for investment, financing, planning, and construction. In May 2021, the Sri Lankan Parliament passed the "Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act," and related implementation rules have been successively introduced. Port City's shift from infrastructure construction to institutional settlement indicates that the project is transforming the planned financial center functions into operational commercial scenarios.

This signing will also influence the subsequent investment promotion pace of Port City. After commercial banks settle in, the zone's attractiveness to multinational corporations, professional service firms, trading enterprises, wealth management institutions, shipping and logistics companies, and regional headquarters will further depend on the quality of financial services, regulatory stability, and the convenience of cross-border funds. Subsequent project milestones include the actual opening of bank branches, the enforcement of offshore banking business rules, the settlement of more financial institutions, the release of demand for office space, and the coordinated operation of Port City's financial district with functional sectors such as commercial, residential, marina, and duty-free retail. Whether Colombo Port City can form a regional financial service agglomeration effect will depend on the speed of banking business implementation, regulatory transparency, the convenience of foreign exchange transactions, and the actual scale of international enterprise settlement.

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