• Govt. would introduce new legislation that will govern rice mill and silo owners

By Yohan Perera  

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday instructed the Central Bank and Treasury officials to monitor the banks’ lending policies, while ensuring that Bank of Ceylon’s provided loans were in line with the Government’s financial policies.  

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made this statement after meeting with representatives of commercial banks to discuss the loans requested by rice mill owners.   

The Prime Minister was informed by Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security, Nalin Fernando, that while banks were not dispersing the requested loans sufficiently, there was also hoarding of rice stocks. The Prime Minister also stated that the Government would introduce new legislation that will govern rice mill and Silo owners to prevent future hoarding of food stocks.