Colombo, Sri Lanka – July 26, 2023- The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to solidify the collaboration that aims to foster sustainable finance opportunities for Sri Lanka’s private sector. The MoU was officially signed by Sanath Manatunge, the Managing Director and CEO of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Dr. Frank Rijsberman, the Director General of GGGI.
The partnership sets the stage for a sustainable finance collaboration program, signifying CBC’s commitment to advancing green and blue investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. Through the expertise and support of GGGI, CBC is planning to enhance its institutional capacity and explore thematic bond framework, strengthening its position in sustainable finance. “Our collective partnership with GGGI holds immense promise for accelerating sustainable finance initiatives in Sri Lanka,” said Sanath Manatunge. He also added “this collaboration would pave the way for a greener and more resilient economy for generations to come”. “GGGI is pleased to partner with the Commercial Bank of Ceylon. We recognize that potentially the most important contribution that we can make in Sri Lanka is to support the development of green climate financing which could generate hundreds of millions of USD for Sri Lanka to implement its green transition,” Dr. Frank Rijsberman Director General of GGGI said.
Sri Lanka joined GGGI as Member State in 2019 and signed a Host Country Agreement with GGGI in February 2022 enabling more effective planning and implementation of green growth initiatives in the country. Sri Lanka was elected as Vice President of the Assembly and Vice Chair of the Council of GGGI in October 2022. GGGI is hosted by the Ministry of Environment at the Climate Change Secretariat and Policy Planning Division.
About Commercial Bank of Ceylon (CBC): The Commercial Bank of Ceylon is a leading financial institution in Sri Lanka. It was listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and being one of the first bank in Sri Lanka to venture into green financing. The Bank has been recognized at the Sri Lanka Sustainability Reporting Awards and is a leading lender to the renewable energy sector. It has also undertaken various corporate and social responsibility activities, including replanting over 100 hectares of mangroves in Trincomalee and 4500 mangroves in Koggala.
