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| Sunday, 20 March 2005 |
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CWE to re-purchase sold outlets by Jayantha Sri Nissanka and Chanuka Mannapperuma Trade Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jeyeraj Fernandopulle, plans to submit a cabinet paper shortly to re-purchase the 150 outlets of the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) which were sold to a consortium of companies during the previous UNF regime. Fernandopulle has held a meeting last week with the directors of the consortium as well as with JVP MPs regarding the re-claiming of these CWE outlets. The Minister told the Sunday Observer, "Another meeting will be held with PERC Chairman and all other relevant parties next week to reach a final decision. The Minister was confident of running these outlets with profits from the sales of wheat flour and sugar. "We can earn Rs. 500 million from wheat flour business and Rs. 600 million from sugar a month, recording about Rs. 100 million profit. The CWE expenses will be Rs. 300 million for workers salaries and another Rs. 100 million for administrative expenses, the Minister noted. CWE sales outlets have been sold by the UNF Government to three major companies at Rs. 680 million. Three companies have contributed Rs. 340 million and raised a bank loan of Rs. 340 to purchase the CWE outlets. When asked, whether the Minister was going to pay Rs. 680 million to acquire CWE outlets he said that these outlets were not worth Rs. 680 million any more. They were sold with goods, equipment and other assets. Now the stocks have been exhausted. We will assess the present value and decide a reasonable price, he further added. |
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