Sri Lankan government to promote SME development in order to achieve economic growth
Sri Lanka’s State Minister for Development Banks and Loan Schemes Shehan Semasinghe has reportedly said that the government of Sri Lanka must support the Small and Medium Sector Entrepreneurs (SME) sector in the country as they would play a major role towards achieving a 6.5 percent economic growth target.
He has explained that it was the main reason that the government had decided to grant a debt moratorium the SME sector.
The Minister has made this observation at a seminar organized by Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry to update the knowledge of the SME sector on the government debt moratorium offered and also on the Credit Information Bureau of Sri Lanka (CRIB) last week in Anuradhapura. The event was attended by officials of the CRIB, state and private banks and SME sector in the area.
According to Semasinghe, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s vision is to develop the SME sector as the President considers SME’s as a key driver towards achieving an economic growth of 6.5 percent. “This government listens to people and knows their issues. This is why the debt moratorium was introduced and even the time to send in applications was extended until February 10.”
The Minister has further explained that the government is ready to allow the SME sector to recommence their businesses by obtaining credit at low interest rates as well as postponing their debt repayments.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka is focused on the country’s economic development and the focus is therefore on the country’s SME sector. Sri Lankan authorities have introduced incentives for the development of local SMEs. Many foreign funding agencies have also come forward to offer funding to local SMEs. Therefore foreign businesses/investors could explore business opportunities in Sri Lanka’s SME sector since such investments would yield profitable returns. After all, Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean, The ease of doing business environment in the country and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have helped Sri Lanka become a business destination in the South Asian region.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/06022020/Z_3 |