Four new state-owned businesses to be listed in the CSE
Four new state-owned business enterprises (SOBEs) are to be added to the existing 52 strategically important state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as limited liability companies, and these four will be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange soon.
These enterprises are now functioning under the Ministries of Finance, Urban Development and Technology with the Secretary to the Treasury being the sole shareholder.
The government is in the process of fully operationalising these four new state owned companies – Selendiva Investments Pvt Ltd, Sahasya Investments, Centre for Robotics (CERA) Pvt Ltd and Sri Lanka Biotechnology (SLIBTEC) Pvt Ltd with foreign or local investor ownership jointly with the state.
This will be a major step of the government towards reviving the country’s loss-making state-owned enterprise sector and create diversified conglomerates capable of competing in the global business arena, Finance Ministry sources said.
Restructuring SOEs under public private partnerships will separate government administration from management of day-to-day business operations, a major step toward efficiency, a top official of the ministry disclosed.
Out of the 287 SOEs, 52 SOEs have been identified as strategically important state enterprises that play a catalytic role in transforming the country’s economy to a high growth trajectory.
Of these 52 entities, the ministry is pushing ahead with these four companies by allowing private capital investments while retaining the key shareholder stake, he explained.
At a time the SOEs and public companies are running at a loss, the task of these Public Private Partnership (PPP) ventures are to brighten the prospects for private sector-supported development with non-debt creating foreign investment.
However the government will still be required to fund these PPP ventures, including through availability payments and minimum revenue guarantees.
Selendiva Investments Ltd is a holding company of the government, tasked initially with the listing of the key real estate assets of the country - Hotel Developers (Lanka) Ltd – (Hilton Hotel); the Canwill Holdings Ltd (Grand Hyatt) and Grand Oriental Hotel.
This company has also expanded its portfolio with the Cabinet of Ministers deciding to vest other key properties in Colombo and the suburbs, according to a Finance Ministry report.
The second new entity, Sahasya Investments Ltd was also established to own and operate expressways and other ancillary assets such as quarries and is in the process of structuring its operations. Sahasya is also due to list its shares in the Colombo Stock Exchange.
Government’s policy priorities also emphasise the importance of supporting advanced technologies such as genetics, robotics, IT and nanotechnology with assured competitive advantage over contemporary technologies for economic growth and national development.
It is in this context that the Centre of Excellence for Robotics Applications (Pvt) Ltd (CERA) was established and now functioning under the Ministry of Technology.
CERA currently supports the private sector in particular to access solutions to enhance productivity in industries through encouraging lean management and AI applications.
Similarly, Sri Lanka Institute of Biotechnology (Pvt) Ltd (SLIBTEC) was established to build an environment conducive to high-end biotech innovation through the continued adoption of cutting-edge technologies, the ministry report revealed.