Doing Business in Sri Lanka - High Commission of India, Colombo

Handbook for Indian Business
Literacy rate 91.9% (2010) - Male 93.2% and Female 90.8%
Currency
International
Airports
Major Ports
Natural Resources
Sri Lankan Rupee (1 USD=130 LKR; 1 LKR = 100 SL cents)
Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake (32 Km north of Colombo);
Sri Lanka is also developing a second international airport at Mattala, near
Hambantota
Colombo is the main port. Sri Lanka is developing a port in hambantota and the
trans-shipment operations have commenced there recently in June 2012. Sri
Lanka also has plans of developing a port at Trincomalee.
Limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems and phosphate
Country IDD code +94 (the local code for Colombo is 011)
Weight and
Measures
Telephone
connection
Money Exchange
Legal System
Metric system; same as India.
There are not too many public call booths. However, cell phone connections are
readily available. Main service providers are Airtel, Dialog, Mobitel, Hutch and
Etisalat.
Money exchange counters may be found at airports and major hotels. It is best
to change money at the airport or at banks. Credit cards can be used in large
shops. ATMs are found in Colombo and other major cities.
Sri Lanka’s judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and a number of subordinate
courts. Sri Lanka’s legal system reflects diverse cultural influences. Criminal Law is fundamentally British.
Basic civil law is Roman - Dutch law. The principles of English Law are applied in relation to Bills of Exchange,
Sale of Goods, Partnership, Companies, Insolvency, Banking, Maritime matters, Insurance, etc.
Currency and Banking
The monetary unit in Sri Lanka is the Rupee, which consists of 100 Cents (U.S.$1 = Rs.130 approx.). The
Central Bank of Sri Lanka is the monetary authority of the country, the sole bank of issue, which also acts as
a financial adviser to the government and administers monetary policy. There are several foreign banks in Sri
Lanka, including the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, Citibank, Deutsche Bank and Standard
Chartered Bank. Five Indian banks also operate in Sri Lanka – State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian
Overseas Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. Bank of India and Yes Bank also have plans to start operations
in Sri Lanka.
Education
Literacy rates and educational attainment levels rose steadily after Sri Lanka became an independent
nation in 1948. Schooling is compulsory for children from 5 to 13 years of age. Education is state funded
and provided free of charge at all levels, including the university level. The government also provides free
textbooks to schoolchildren. The language of instruction is either Sinhala or Tamil. English is taught as a
second language.
Several International Schools function in Sri Lanka for foreign expatriates and offer British and American
systems of education. There are no Indian schools in Colombo or elsewhere in Sri Lanka.
Telecommunication
The telecommunications sector consists of multiple telephone service providers, including fixed line operators
and mobile operators (Bharti Airtel is a recent entrant), external gateway operators (TATA Communications
from India) and several internet service providers, making the industry more competitive.
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