Private and state sectors urge each other to ‘play by the rules’
2 February 2015 04:14 am
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The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the apex body of the private sector, requested the government to move out of conducting business through state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and to become the facilitator in creating a conducive environment for trade and investment.
“We believe that the business of business should remain with businesses, and the government should keep to the regulatory side, setting the framework and policies,” Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Suresh Shah said.
Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake in response said the same would hold in return for businessmen.“Ranil (Wickremasinghe) said businessmen should do business, politicians should move out. But then businessmen should not be in the area of politics. You don’t need to be sponsoring momentums,” he quipped.
Shah further called to list minority stakes of SOEs in the Colombo Stock Exchange, which would promote transparency and good governance, as they would then be required to disclose financial information under the listing rules.
“An option which was ideologically off the table but which I hope won’t be for this new dispensation is the sale and or listing of SOEs. That is a way you can raise revenue and improve corporate governance,” Former Commonwealth Economic Affairs Director Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy also said.
He gave the example of Bank of India, which transformed from a bloated and inefficient organization to a better corporate citizen, after just 10 percent of its shares were listed.Karunanayake said the decision of listing minority stakes must be taken after careful deliberation by the Cabinet but that the sale of SOEs will not be considered.