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BOI to be revamped to assist Small and Medium Enterprises
The Board of Investment (BOI) will be restructured into five regional commissions in order to address the needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in each of those regions.

"The BOI will not be only to service the big people," said Professor G.L Peiris, Minister of Enterprise Development, Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion. "We are planning to set up five regional commissions in different parts of the country in order to enable decisions to be made in concurrence with the needs of the particular areas.

It is a very fruitful and timely initiative to address the needs of small and medium scale industries," he said at the launch of 'Sahanya', a small and medium scale entrepreneurs' loan scheme.

This initiative comes under the overall aim of protecting small scale, local industries and particularly vulnerable enterprises in a competitive business environment. Five private banks, namely HNB, NDB, DFCC, Sampath Bank and Commercial Bank, will be assuming leadership in each of the five regions, providing support to the industrial sectors, and catalyse investment by improving SMEs, enhance access to finance and strengthen the enabling business environment for SMEs.

The principal objective of the government is the industrial and economic development of the country by addressing the needs of these SMEs.This was not a "piecemeal solution" or a "bureaucratic run of the mill scheme", Prof. Peiris said. "It is to do with uplifting the small man and enabling him to compete in what is a very volatile and unfriendly environment. So it is a very important programme from our point of view."

The Asian Development Bank has sanctioned $60 million in financing SMEs credit component alone and a partial credit guarantee of $90 million. Each small and medium business venture will be granted a loan of up to around Rs.35 million with no minimum amount. The loans will carry a 14 percent interest rate with a maximum repayment period of ten years and a two-year grace period.

However, the asset value for a loan to be sanctioned must not be more that Rs.35 million. The scheme also recognises the need for better management and marketing as well as technical experience. (RC)

World Bank help in Lanka's reconstruction
WASHINGTON - As efforts to consolidate peace intensify in Sri Lanka, the World Bank agreed on November 14 to provide $31 million to improve the lives and economic prospects of people living in conflict-affected areas. The funds were mobilized quickly in response to the immediate need for easing the hardships which exacerbate tension in the North East Province, and are in turn part of a broader World Bank strategy to support Sri Lanka's national economic reform and development in the context of the peace process.

The new financing will support an Emergency Reconstruction Programme which will help restore primary health care; repair urban water schemes; provide returning families with opportunities for income generation and employment; and build capacity to undertake a multi-donor-financed reconstruction programme in the coming years. It will assist people living in the North East Province where development assistance has been absent for 20 years. The programme will be administered by the North East Provincial Council, according to a World Bank statement.

"We have offered this assistance to help those who are among the most vulnerable of Sri Lanka's poor, as part of the World Bank's primary mission of helping to reduce poverty," said Peter Harrold, World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka. "In addition, it is extremely important that the benefits of peace-which include better social services, economic opportunity and growth-be demonstrated to the entire population of Sri Lanka as early as possible."

The priorities of the Emergency Reconstruction Programme were developed based on a joint rapid needs assessment carried out by the government together with the World Bank's International Development Association, the Asia Development Bank, The World Health Organization and the German Technical Cooperation Agency.

The $ 31 million will come from project savings that would have otherwise been canceled. Another $ 12 million will be provided from ongoing projects in legal and judicial reform and education, which were originally intended to reach the North East, but had been blocked earlier due to the conflict. Another $ 23 million is being provided from ongoing projects aimed primarily at assisting the North East-i.e., the North East Irrigated Agriculture Project and the Landmine Action Project. This brings the total World Bank commitments to the North East to $66 million.

Norwegian officials to visit EFC
Lars Chr Berge, Deputy Director General and Ms. Inger Ostby, Advisor Development Assistance of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) will be visiting the Employers' Federation of Ceylon (EFC) and Chambers of Commerce from November 25 to 28.

The duo is visiting as part of a fact-finding mission to sister organisations in developing countries and to start a dialogue about possible future institutionalised cooperation between the NHO and a corresponding local organisation. The delegation is due to visit the EFC tomorrow.

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