Bank of Ceylon to expand India operations

By siliconindia   |   Monday, 17 December 2007, 20:30 IST
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Colombo: Setting up more branches and ATM centres through out the country, Bank of Ceylon (BoC), Sri Lanka's largest bank, is planning to expand its India operations to attract more foreign investment to the country. "The Bank of Ceylon is to diversify its operations in India and the UK to attract more foreign investment, especially for the capital markets in Sri Lanka," said Gamini Wickremasinghe, BoC Chairman. Outlining new strategies of the bank, Wickremasinghe said it would introduce new products and financial instruments for South Indian customers through its Chennai branch after fulfilling the conditions required by Indian authorities. Wickremasinghe said that these measures will help the bank to expand the scope in various financial segments in South India. He said the bank is negotiating with British Financial Service Authority to expand operations of the BoC's London branch as it is now operating as an exchange house for lending and trade financing activities. Sri Lankan expatriates in European countries will be encouraged to invest in the country's capital market as Sri Lanka is a good place to make investments, he said. Bank of Ceylon, fully owned by the Sri Lankan government, has the largest asset base worth around $3.6 billion. It has a capital base of Rs 18 billion among local banks and the highest single borrower exposure of up to Rs 7.3 billion.