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China to invest more in Colombo International Financial Centre

By Zacki Jabbar 2016-08-22
CHINA Harbour Engineering Company said last week that it would make further investments in the Port City which will henceforth be referred to as the Colombo International Financial City.

Sri Lanka`s ministry of megapolis together with the urban development authority and the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) Port City Colombo, the constructor signed a tripartite agreement at the Cinnamon Grand, last week to develop a new Colombo International Financial City (CIFC), replacing the agreement signed by the Rajapaksa government on Sept. 16, 2014 to build a Port City.

President of CHEC Tang Qiaoliang, speaking on the occasion, said he was happy about the positive changes that had been made to the original agreement, which indicated China`s willingness to work closely with Sri Lanka.

`This project is going to benefit the people of Sri Lanka since it will not only bring in the investors but also the tourists,` he noted, adding CHEC would be making further investments in CIFC, in addition to the outright grant of $1.5bn it hadalready committed itself to.

Minister of Megapolis Patali Champika Ranawaka said that Sri Lanka should learn from history, otherwise it would be doomed forever.

Singapore without any natural resources had made great strides because it grabbed the opportunities that came its way, he observed.

Ranawaka recalled that after Singapore had separated from Malaysia in August 1965, the country`s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew during a visit to the United Kingdom to sort out the issue of British military bases remaining in his country, had met a banker who wanted to establish a banking hub in Asia. `Lee Kuan Yew grabbed the opportunity with both hands and invited him to establish a financial centre in Singapore and the rest is history.

When Sri Lanka, then Ceylon gained independence in 1947 it had surplus funds and was well placed to become a financial hub in Asia, but somehow lost out to other cities like Singapore, Dubai and Virgin Islands, he said. `We are now trying to recreate the lost opportunities.`• The Island/ ANN