Offshore Banking Regulations at Port City approved

Port City Colombo announced that the two gazetted regulations, Offshore Banking and Offshore Banking — Prudent Management and Confidence, were officially passed by the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

This milestone represents Port City Colombo’s ambitious aim to position itself as a formidable regional financial center, which would attract an increased inflow of Foreign Direct Investments into Sri Lanka.

As of date, seven local banks and three international banking corporations are discussing setting up offshore banking branches within the area of authority of the Colombo Port City Special Economic Zone. Six local banks, including the Commercial Bank of Sri Lanka, Sampath, HNB, DFCC, NDB, and NTB, have additionally been approved as Authorised Persons (APs) by the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC).

The commercial operations of the offshore banking branches at Port City Colombo will be governed by the regulations above, which were initially gazetted on 26th July 2024.

These branches will also operate under the direct supervision and oversight of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Financial Intelligence Unit. This further reinforces the growing investor confidence in Port City Colombo as a regional investment hotspot.