Government to make several SOEs self financed: Ravi

The new government’s plan to restructure the loss making State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to be self financed without depending on the General treasury will be a reality soon, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.

At present Sri Lanka has around 245 public Corporations, institutions and the boards classified as SOEs of which 55 have been identified by the government as the strategically important enterprises which are engaged in commercial, industrial and financial activities. 

Finance minister Ravi Karunanayake said that as part of the government’s plan to restructure these strategic SOEs, actions have been taken to make SriLankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Water Board to be self financed with the capital infusion by the general treasury.

“Under this major restructuring programme the government will make a capital infusion of Rs 65 billion to the Water Board, Rs 100 billion to the Ceylon Petroleum Corp, US Dollar 125 million to Sri Lankan and US Dollar 25 million to Mihin Lanka in the year 2015 by way of Treasury bonds.

Many of the SOEs were making losses for the last several years.  Commercial operations of energy, aviation and commuter transport and plantation clusters have ended up with losses. CPC has an accumulated debt of Rs 234 billion while CEB ‘s corresponding value of Rs 57 billion. Sri Lankan airlines debt is running at Rs 124 billion,” the Ministry said in a statement.