Not For Sale

Sri Lanka will terminate a divestment program initiated by the previous government, the treasury secretary said Friday.
But the new government headed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga that came to power last month will increase public spending on poverty-reduction measures, which arent expected to widen the budget deficit, he said.



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rn"Privatization is not the policy of the government. For state enterprises we will move toward a business-oriented management style," Treasury Secretary P.

B. Jayasundera told Dow Jones Newswires in anrninterview.





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rnKey enterprises such as state banks, railways and the water resources board will be brought under a single entity to improve their management, Jayasundera said.rn

rn"These kinds of enterprises will be brought under more professional supervision. We will improve commercial operations to the extent that they can become fairly cash rich and pay appropriate dividend to the government," he said.

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rnThe ports authority, three state banks and the electrici