Financial Times

CSE to open branch in Jaffna
The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has plans to open an office in Jaffna, located at Hospital Street, on the back of current peace initiatives within two months.

“We have the property and its interiors are done. It is only a matter of time before we could put in the necessary resources and start operations. For this we need to have some positive steps towards peace and we hope that operations can be started within two months,” a CSE source said.

He said deposit mobilisation among the private banks is very high in Jaffna, which also presents a good opportunity for the CSE. “There is a lot of money that comes from overseas, because many residents in Jaffna have at least one relative in a foreign country. Also the cost of living is very cheap and there is a lot of money that is being mobilised by the banks operating there,” he said.
Currently Seylan Bank, Commercial Bank, Hatton National Bank, Peoples Bank, Bank of Ceylon and National Savings Bank have branches in Jaffna.

A stockbroker said the residents in the peninsula have shown a lot of interest in the stock market and a strong peace initiative would set the pace for the present stock brokering firms, most of whom are there in a small way to expand their business.

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