. i would also urge the chambers of commerce and industries, and other similar associations to consider establishing international institutional frameworks and links, which would pave the way for two - way interaction between the overseas sri lankan community and our local institutions and businesses. such relationships could then act as focal points to promote remittances and investments into the domestic economy, as well. my dear friends, today, we meet in the midst of a significant change in our country ’ s economic and political landscape. the end of the decades long conflict has resulted in the creation of a significant positive impact, not just in the northern province, but also in the entire country. to benefit by this positive outlook, it is crucial that we start new businesses and expand on - going ventures. in this regard, i am happy to note that the hsbc, which brands itself as the “ world ’ s local bank ”, could now offer both corporate and small customers a full range of financial products and services. in doing so, they, as well as all other banks who are doing business in these emerging areas, will face the challenges of borrowers not possessing long credit histories or not possessing adequate collateral. this situation will certainly pose challenges, but we would like to urge all bankers that they should practice innovative cash flow based lending methods at least for 2 to 3 years, and not to be too constrained by security based lending only. i also urge financial institutions to lend the money mobilized from the region for the development of this region. finally, let me place on record my appreciation of the presence of the high commissioner of the uk, dr. peter hayes at this opening ceremony. your support to this effort would certainly encourage the business community both here in jaffna and elsewhere in sri lanka, and i thank you for your gesture. let me also congratulate hsbc on this auspicious occasion of opening the first foreign bank branch in jaffna. the hsbc bank with its global connections could now facilitate financial transactions in the north with all parts of the world, while hsbc ’ s presence in the jaffna peninsula from today onwards, would convey an important signal to the world that tangible progress is being made in post conflict sri lanka. i wish mr nick a nicolaou, his team in sri lanka the hsbc and all their customers, especially the ones in this area, all success. thank you.

##ar, jaffna, a part of mulativu and killinochchi have now returned to their homes. the others mainly from mulativu and killinochchi are also to be resettled systematically without any undue delay, depending on the speed at which the de - mining processes take place. this is an outstanding achievement against all odds, and i believe the successful resettlement is a tribute to the deep commitment of the government, the tremendous efforts of our public service and the dedicated contribution of several international organizations. i am also tempted to mention that this surprising outcome may have been a pleasant surprise to many who at certain times expressed the belief that the government may not have had the inclination nor the urgency to carry out this challenging task so expeditiously. my dear friends, the central bank has also contributed its mite to these normalization processes. we have, so far, over the past 8 months, granted approvals for the establishment of more than 90 banking outlets in the northern province. we have introduced a special loan scheme, also titled “ vadakkin vasantham ” to boost the livelihood development of the people in the north. under this scheme, an initial sum of rs. 3, 000 million has been appropriated to be disbursed at a concessionary interest rate of 9 % per annum to the eligible micro, small and medium scale enterprises, through several participating financial institutions. the repayment period could extend up to 5 years with a grace period of 6 months. i am happy to note that over 9, 000 loans amounting to rs. 1. 8 billion have already been registered with the pfis and disbursements of over rs 1 billion has taken place. my dear friends, the rich resources of the north, including its forests, agricultural land, wet lands, lagoons and bays provide a solid base for many enterprises. even during the conflict period, the northern province accounted for 10 percent of the paddy production, 40 % of red onions, 10 % of chillies, 14 % of green gram and 25 % of ground nuts. these statistics indicate that there would be many viable income generating activities which could be promoted to upgrade the livelihood of the people, with the assistance of the banking sector. it has been estimated that 129, 000 fishermen, representing 20 percent of the total number of fishermen in our country, live in 219 fishing villages in the northern province. in the year 2006, the total fish production from the north stood