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| Tuesday, 22 July 2003 |
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Sahanya loans to develop Moneragala The National Development Bank (NDB) recently had a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Moneragala, to apprise the Chamber of the assistance available under the Sahanya Loan Scheme. Gamini Rupasinghe, Chairman of the Chamber, together with the Director Board and the staff participated in the discussion at their office at Buttala. The NDB delegation comprised A. L. Somaratne - AGM (SME and SME Development), R.Abeywardena-Snr. Manager (SME Development), R. Ranjith -Snr Manager (Branch Operations) and Lasintha Ferdinandez - Manager( Badulla Branch). G. Rupasinghe, welcoming the NDB delegation, expressed their desire to work closely with NDB in the development of the Moneragala District by setting up developmental projects in association with its members. The Chamber has a member strength of around 80, who are engaged in diversed business activities. He said that it is timely that the NDB had this meeting, as setting up of new projects is a priority for this less developed district, to enhance the income levels of the people and also to create employment for the unemployed in this area. A L Somaratne, in his introduction to the NDB said "the Bank which was established around 20 years ago, has a commitment towards development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Provinces. Having this in view, NDB in association with other commercial banks and development banks in the country launched the well-known Small and Medium Industries (SMI) Loan Scheme in 1980. Several credit lines made available for SME lending by the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and German Development Bank (KfW), have successfully been utilised since then, with the NDB playing the "Apex" Role. To-date, around Rs. 30 billion has been lent to SMEs around the country through these schemes, helping around 30,000 projects. This has based on our estimates, helped create around 200,000 employment opportunities," he said. He said that the NDB, together with several other banks, now participate under the Sahanya Loan Scheme funded by the ADB. The purpose of this meeting, he said, "was to enlighten the Moneragala Chamber of the main features of this Loan Scheme and also the availability of loans under NDB's Badulla Branch. A maximum loan of Rs. 35 million could be granted under this scheme to a single enterprise, where the total investment value does not exceed Rs. 70 million, excluding land and buildings. The interest rate applicable for these loans would be attractive in keeping with the reduced market interest rates that are experienced today. A longer repayment period of 8 to 10 years, would be given for repayment of loans obtained under this scheme. All manufacturing and service sectors are eligible for loans under the scheme." |
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