Visionary City sets the agenda for the CIFC
Recognising the need to face future changes and challenges in the financial service industry, the government has embarked on creating an eco system for high end, top 10 highly competitive services, transforming the Colombo International Financial City (CIFC) to a ‘Visionary City’.
This development will have financial services, professionals, entrepreneurs, innovations, Fintech companies, and service- related businesses, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Harsha de Silva told the Business Times.
It will become a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for services, he said, adding that there will be real estate, yacht marinas, retail, world class universities and proper health care, etc.
Dr. De Silva has been appointed as the chairman of the steering committee of the project handling soft infrastructure including the law, taxes, regulations, strategies, marketing and promoting the right type of businesses at the SEZ.
Minister Patali Champika Ranawake’s Ministry of Megapolis and the UDA are handling hard infrastructure such as construction of buildings, transporting sand other functions connected to construction work at the CIFC.
Dr. de Silva noted that he is now setting up working groups on policy, legal and regulations, international relations and marketing, etc.
The draft CIFC Law based on common- law practices and requesting no amendment to the Constitution and the strategy of the CIFC were presented to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at a workshop in Colombo recently.
All the CIFC consultants, representatives of various government agencies, top officials of the Central Bank and the Treasury, Attorney Generals Department and World Bank (which is helping in formulating the regulatory framework and risk management) attended the workshop.
This draft law has not been reviewed by the AG, Dr. de Silva said, adding that it was a wholly Sri Lankan law which will be formulated based on common law principles through “cherry picking best practices”.
The CIFC’s legal division headed by former Attorney General Yuvanjana Wijethilake has already done some preliminary work towards this end, he said, adding that Prof. Suri Ratnapala, an international law scholar and one- time Senior State Counsel at the local AG’s department, will also be joining in the next couple of weeks in assisting in the draft law. This is to be studied by the AG, Bar Association and legal experts to ascertain its constitutionality, he disclosed.
The idea of Visionary City, considering the future needs of high end, highly competitive services, emerged eight months ago in January this year. In that month a group of reputed international consultants had been engaged in looking at strategy and policy studies with regard to CIFC.
These consultants included former chairman Merrill Lynch Europe Ltd, the current chairman of UK Finance, representatives of 300 leading financial service companies including British Bankers Association, top officials of Dubai International Financial Corporation and the Qatar Financial Centre.
Once this draft law document is ready, ‘Request for Proposals’ will be called from UK- based law firms to evaluate the draft and the selected British law firm will be involved in drafting rules and regulations of the CIFC in accordance with the common law in line with the Constitution, he revealed.
The finance and marina district master plan was designed by SOM ( Skidmore Owings & Merrill) for CHEC Port City Colombo, which is looking to transform 269 hectares of re claimed l and beside Colombo's central business district.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told a local forum in July last year that the financial city will function as a special jurisdiction area with its own economic and commercial laws to facilitate operations of global multinational corporations and grow as a business and financial hub. (Bandula)