BOC moots credit line for Seychelles

Bank of Ceylon said yesterday Seychelles is set to benefit from Sri Lanka’s expertise in fisheries and a possible line of credit from the industry giant.

This is following Bank of Ceylon Chairman Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe meeting President James Michel at State House Seychelles last week during an official visit to the country.

He was accompanied by the bank’s Assistant General Manager of Overseas Branches Ranjith Haputhanthri.

Dr. Wickramasinghe said he came to Seychelles at the invitation of President Michel who in August made a State visit to Sri Lanka where he visited the Colombo Dockyard and discussed various topics, including possibilities of cooperation with the dockyard to meet ever-increasing needs in the fields of shipbuilding and ship repair in Seychelles.





“We are here to see how we could help Seychelles, firstly in the fisheries sector and secondly in tourism. We will be doing a feasibility study and assess the business potential Seychelles can have with Sri Lanka,” added Dr. Wickramasinghe, who will be meeting some of the country’s top officials while here.

Dr. Wickramasinghe said: “There is a lot of room for financial activities in this beautiful country.”

He added that Sri Lanka’s Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Rajitha Senaratne would be visiting Seychelles in the coming weeks accompanied by other top Sri Lankan Government officials to hold further discussions on cooperation in fisheries, business development and education.

During President Michel’s August visit to Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Government announced it would extend a credit line to Seychelles to use in trade and commercial transactions with Sri Lanka, particularly in boatbuilding ventures.

Dr. Wickramasinghe said that the Bank of Ceylon would consider how it can help Seychelles in the fisheries and tourism industries. He will also meet officials from the Government to discuss the terms of the line of credit.

He also said there will be a feasibility study to determine the potential of the Bank of Ceylon operating in Seychelles – months after President Mahinda Rajapaksa said his Government would consider the possibility of opening a Bank of Ceylon branch here.

“We can see the potential and the bank can join in the country’s development efforts. I think we can mutually benefit from this,” said Dr. Wickramasinghe.