Approximately 300 businesses have expressed interest in establishing operations within Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port City Special Economic Zone, with around 50 applications currently being processed, according to State Minister for Investment Dilum Amunugama.
To date, the cabinet has approved approximately 20 firms.
The Colombo Port City Commission is responsible for approving significant investments, categorizing them into primary businesses of strategic importance, which receive investment incentives, and secondary businesses of strategic importance.
Minister Amunugama noted that the approval of financial businesses has taken longer due to the time required to develop necessary regulations in collaboration with the central bank.
The pipeline of interested businesses totals 300, with an active approval process underway for 50 of them.
Businesses registered to operate in the zone can engage in international commerce without tax benefits, provided they adhere to applicable rules. The Port City is a dollarized special economic zone, shielding its residents from the depreciation and inflation caused by liquidity injections from the central bank or anchor conflicts.
In this zone, businesses can transact using US dollars and other stable currencies, allowing residents to preserve the value of their savings by avoiding depreciation typical of the rupee.