Majority of these entities are inefficient and wasteful, but now the government is determined to change things with SOE restructure plan moving even more SOEs into competitive markets.

These 527 SOEs and 52 of them are identified as strategically important will be operated with private sector investment, generate revenues for the state, reduce the administrative burden on the state, and distribute ownership partially and management more widely to the private sector, former finance minister Ravi Karunannayake said.

.The restructure tool is used to improve their financial and operational performance and to make them operate on the strength of their balance sheets, he pointed out adding that measures were also taken to reduce the flow of public funds to SOEs.

All these structural measures will enable Sri Lanka to strengthen the governance of SOEs and make them financially viable while alleviating their burden on public finances.

He suggested that Sri Lanka should follow the Temasek model of Singapore which is operated on a competitive basis, where the Government has no intervention in business.