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Port City to function as country's business hub
Sat Apr 09, 2016 3:20 pm
The Colombo Port City will be considered a special jurisdiction area enabling it to function as the country's financial and business hub, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday
He said the monetary laws would be changed to achieve this and the businesses could be carried out in a more relaxed environment with exchange control laws being relaxed.
The Prime Minister also said with the commencement of operations of the Port City, Sri Lanka would be a country with two economies.
Addressing a Business Forum at the China World Hotel in Beijing hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Prime Minister said that it was the first time that the two major parties in Sri Lanka came together in a delegation to determine the strategic economic cooperation between the two countries in the next decade, a period of importance for both countries because both countries are involved in the next level of economic re-structuring for integration and prospect.
"It is also important to note that the relations are now shifting from government to government and between government institutions to institutions into private enterprises on both sides.
At a time when both sides are looking at how we could engage with the world and get a greater share of trade for our countries. Both countries have come up with two concepts in which China has one belt and one road concept and we have the hub for Indian Ocean," the Prime Minister said.
"After all in the ancient days this Silk Route came in to Sri Lanka and from Sri Lanka it went via the Indian Ocean, you can see that historical synergies are there and it is a matter as to how we could cooperate.
I have searched and read and I have been informed of what China's modern silk route and maritime silk route and one belt one road strategy," Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said.
"I would tell what Sri Lanka is planning to do, the potential of the Indian Ocean for economic development has to be fully exploited .It has not happened we have Europe on one side and East Asia on the other side, the potential of the Indian Ocean is enormous .The Bay of Bengal constitutes of larger countries. The population of the whole of South Asia put together equals to that of China. Imagine what masses of people on the verge of economic development could do. There is Indonesia, Thailand Myanmar and the whole African East coast,within this important geographical milieu Sri Lanka is strategically positioned as its hub," the Prime Minister said.
"Sri Lanka's objectives are clear that it wants to become the business hub logistics hub and platform for competitive value addition, in this regard we are carrying out a series of structural reforms to make it easy for business and certainly our rules on monetary affairs would be changed to make it more competitive and this would be announced in June this year. In brief what we are trying to do is to convert Sri Lanka into that hub firstly we would convert the Western Province into a mega-polis of eight million people. It would be the largest City of the Indian Ocean and above us would be Chennai Bangalore and the new City of Amarawthie.
"We certainly have a dominant role in the Bay of Bengal we are In touch with the authorities of the Andhra Pradesh who had apparently made contacts with the same Singaporean consultants that we have been working with for the Western Province megapolis city.
"At the beginning we had questions about the port city and we wanted a proper EIA done and to see whether the govt complied with legal requirements . we have changed certain provisions to see that it has been done according to the law now it has been cleared told Prime Minister answering questions by Chinese journalists who queried about the delay and the election time sentiments expressed by the opposition," he said.
The Prime Minister also said that there is a gaping vacuum between Singapore and Dubai and expressed his intentions of throwing Colombo in to fill the void.
"In Colombo we would have a special centre with separate laws for the purpose. Laws have already being drafted and we will have two economies in one country'
"A committee has been appointed to negotiate with Chinese banks for long term concessionary rate. Chinese Development Bank is likely to give a loan of US$ 500 million at concessionary rate," government sources said The Prime Minister emphasised that government had selected the Chinese funded Port City to become the business and financial districtwith special status. Elaborating on other priorities he said the second area of importance would be Hambantota where the infrastructure had been put in place. The emphasis was on industry base zone in Hambantota and he thanked the Chinese government for putting the infrastructure in place.
He also said that the government was looking at public private partnership and government will play the role of a regulator. We like to see the Chinese entrepreneurs coming there and we would offer a level playing field for them to carry on with their business.
Source: CDN
He said the monetary laws would be changed to achieve this and the businesses could be carried out in a more relaxed environment with exchange control laws being relaxed.
The Prime Minister also said with the commencement of operations of the Port City, Sri Lanka would be a country with two economies.
Addressing a Business Forum at the China World Hotel in Beijing hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Prime Minister said that it was the first time that the two major parties in Sri Lanka came together in a delegation to determine the strategic economic cooperation between the two countries in the next decade, a period of importance for both countries because both countries are involved in the next level of economic re-structuring for integration and prospect.
"It is also important to note that the relations are now shifting from government to government and between government institutions to institutions into private enterprises on both sides.
At a time when both sides are looking at how we could engage with the world and get a greater share of trade for our countries. Both countries have come up with two concepts in which China has one belt and one road concept and we have the hub for Indian Ocean," the Prime Minister said.
"After all in the ancient days this Silk Route came in to Sri Lanka and from Sri Lanka it went via the Indian Ocean, you can see that historical synergies are there and it is a matter as to how we could cooperate.
I have searched and read and I have been informed of what China's modern silk route and maritime silk route and one belt one road strategy," Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said.
"I would tell what Sri Lanka is planning to do, the potential of the Indian Ocean for economic development has to be fully exploited .It has not happened we have Europe on one side and East Asia on the other side, the potential of the Indian Ocean is enormous .The Bay of Bengal constitutes of larger countries. The population of the whole of South Asia put together equals to that of China. Imagine what masses of people on the verge of economic development could do. There is Indonesia, Thailand Myanmar and the whole African East coast,within this important geographical milieu Sri Lanka is strategically positioned as its hub," the Prime Minister said.
"Sri Lanka's objectives are clear that it wants to become the business hub logistics hub and platform for competitive value addition, in this regard we are carrying out a series of structural reforms to make it easy for business and certainly our rules on monetary affairs would be changed to make it more competitive and this would be announced in June this year. In brief what we are trying to do is to convert Sri Lanka into that hub firstly we would convert the Western Province into a mega-polis of eight million people. It would be the largest City of the Indian Ocean and above us would be Chennai Bangalore and the new City of Amarawthie.
"We certainly have a dominant role in the Bay of Bengal we are In touch with the authorities of the Andhra Pradesh who had apparently made contacts with the same Singaporean consultants that we have been working with for the Western Province megapolis city.
"At the beginning we had questions about the port city and we wanted a proper EIA done and to see whether the govt complied with legal requirements . we have changed certain provisions to see that it has been done according to the law now it has been cleared told Prime Minister answering questions by Chinese journalists who queried about the delay and the election time sentiments expressed by the opposition," he said.
The Prime Minister also said that there is a gaping vacuum between Singapore and Dubai and expressed his intentions of throwing Colombo in to fill the void.
"In Colombo we would have a special centre with separate laws for the purpose. Laws have already being drafted and we will have two economies in one country'
"A committee has been appointed to negotiate with Chinese banks for long term concessionary rate. Chinese Development Bank is likely to give a loan of US$ 500 million at concessionary rate," government sources said The Prime Minister emphasised that government had selected the Chinese funded Port City to become the business and financial districtwith special status. Elaborating on other priorities he said the second area of importance would be Hambantota where the infrastructure had been put in place. The emphasis was on industry base zone in Hambantota and he thanked the Chinese government for putting the infrastructure in place.
He also said that the government was looking at public private partnership and government will play the role of a regulator. We like to see the Chinese entrepreneurs coming there and we would offer a level playing field for them to carry on with their business.
Source: CDN
- sashimaalTop contributor
- Posts : 5785
Join date : 2014-02-28
Re: Port City to function as country's business hub
Fri Jan 13, 2017 5:15 pm
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