COLOMBO -- A growing list of companies are looking to establish toeholds in Port City Colombo, a still barren, sand-filled island built by the Chinese off the coast of Sri Lanka's commercial capital.
Optimism surrounding the new slab of real estate in the heart of the Indian Ocean clashes with the country's grim economic picture and political turmoil, amid daily blackouts, protests and persistent talk of a potential default on foreign debt. Nevertheless, "there is high expectation this will be a game-changer," one veteran commercial banker said of the early hints of an international city taking shape.
