Business chambers hail Government’s achievement
IMF Stand-by facility :
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved
a 20-month Stand-By Arrangement for Sri Lanka in an amount equivalent to
SDR 1.65 billion (about US$2.6 billion) to support the country’s
economic reform program last Friday.
Speaking to Daily News Business leading business chambers in the
country hail this achievement and stress the importance of better
utilization of these funds in economic development in the country.
Chairman Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Dr. Anura Ekanayake said we
are pleased that despite various obstacles Government of Sri Lanka
managed to obtain this loan with favourable interest rate. At a time
like this it is better to borrow from this source than other commercial
sources, he said. He said this is a significant achievement by the
Government and we hope this will go ahead with country’s development
activities.
President Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri
Lanka (FCCISL) Kosala Wickramanayake said the business community is
happy about this achievement even though it took some time. This will
help economic development in the country and Sri Lanka also needs to
focus on maintaining strong foreign reserves for facilitating economic
development in the country, he said.
Chairman of the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) Newton
Wickremasuriya said it is timely and the country needs this kind of
assistance. We expect that these funds will put to good use which
targets development activities in the country and hope this will go long
way till it benefit the country at a large.
President of the Sri Lanka Chamber of Small Industry Aloy Jayawardene
said that this is a fantastic achievement for Sri Lanka. The country
defeated terrorism recently. Now Sri Lanka needs to focus on
reconstruction and development of North-East and accelerate economic
development in the country, he said.
Some countries did not support the obtaining of this loan to Sri
Lanka and this is a great achievement to the Government. Now we need to
ensure the proper utilization of these funds. The SME sector in the
country plays a pivotal role in the economic development and the
Government needs to facilitate this segment too, he said.
Upon the Executive Board’s approval, an amount equivalent to SDR
206.7 million (about US$322.2 million) becomes immediately available to
Sri Lanka.
The remaining amount will be phased in, subject to quarterly reviews.
The total amount of IMF resources made available under the arrangement
equals 400 percent of the country’s quota, said IMF media release last
Friday.
The key objectives of the authorities’ economic reform program
supported by the Fund are to strengthen the country’s fiscal position
while ensuring the availability of resources for much needed
post-conflict reconstruction and relief efforts.
The program is also intended to rebuild international reserves and
strengthen Sri Lanka’s domestic financial system, and to protect the
most vulnerable in the country from the burden of the needed economic
adjustment. The program aims to lay a strong macroeconomic foundation
that will help the authorities approach the broader international
community for financial support in post-conflict reconstruction, media
release said.
(AS) |