Sri Lanka’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) could be either state-owned or privatized, Peter Breuer, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission chief for the island nation said, as a move to restructure several loss-making SOEs has been resisted by the new government.
Breuer’s comments come as President Anura Kumara Disanayake’s new government has been resisting the privatization or divestment process under the previous government’s SOE-restructuring strategies.
Instead, the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) government has said it would reduce corruption and increase the efficiency to minimize losses, government officials say.
“It is crucial that SOEs are managed in a prudent manner to avoid the accumulation of losses or debts that would eventually need to be paid by taxpayers,” Breuer told EconomyNext, responding to a query on if the new government is in discussion with the IMF on the SOE restructuring.
