At a meeting held on 05.09.2022, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the establishment of a Public Enterprise Restructuring Unit under the Ministry of Finance, to provide necessary guidance and assistance regarding the restructuring of public enterprises.

The policy was prepared with the aim of improving the quality, price and accessibility of goods and services provided by public enterprises, removing the financial impact of such enterprises on the treasury and creating a competitive and market-based business environment to attract private investors.

The Finance Ministry has identified 430 state institutions, both loss- and profit-making institutions, for the proposed restructuring process.

Under the proposed programme, some of the institutions will be sold; others will be closed down, merged or restructured. The process would begin in about two months and be completed by the end of the year, a senior Treasury official said.

Among the 20 loss making SOEs were the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Rs 615 bn), Ceylon Electricity Board (Rs 272 bn), Sri Lankan Airlines (Rs 70 bn), Ceylon Shipping Corporation Ltd (Rs 4 bn), National Water Supply and Drainage Board (Rs 3 bn), and National Housing Development Authority (Rs 1 bn).