SEZ Port City Colombo woos tech cos to derisk India ops

New Delhi: China-backed Port City Colombo, a multi-services special economic zone, is courting US- and Europe-based technology companies with operations in India that are seeking to derisk, according to deputy managing director Thulci Aluwihare.

The SEZ is pitching itself as an alternative to Singapore and Dubai. It can also give Indian companies access to the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Aluwihare said. India and Sri Lanka have a free trade agreement, while Sri Lanka has applied to join RCEP.

"Indian companies can use Port City Colombo as a bridge between that trading blocs," Aluwihare told ET. Port City Colombo is a joint venture between the Sri Lankan government and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC).


"The cost of doing business at Port City Colombo is estimated at a fourth of Singapore and Dubai," Aluwihare said, adding that a similar trend applies to the cost of living. India is the project's biggest target market due to its geographical proximity and capability-centre ecosystem, he said. A favourable currency regime is also part of Aluwihare's pitch.

"There are designated currencies for transactions within Port City Colombo. The US dollar is the primary transaction currency while the Indian rupee is also legal tender," he said.

"We are in active, substantive conversations with large technology companies exploring the location as part of their risk-diversification and business-continuity planning," he added.

Asked whether Port City Colombo faces competition from Mauritius or other jurisdictions where companies are set up to take advantage of tax regimes, Aluwihare said, "Our objective is not to be positioned as a tax haven".