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| Sunday, 15 May 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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SME Bank to contribute to rapid economic development by L. S. A. Wedaarachchi SME Bank - the budget proposal hailed last year by the business community and policy makers, will begin operations by the end of this month at Nawam Mawatha, Colombo. Dr. Bandula Perera has been appointed as the acting chairman of the SME Bank. Two leading banking professionals - Sarath Silva and Palihakkara have been appointed as the advisor and the CEO of the SME Bank. Explaining the progress in the last few weeks Minister of Advanced Technology and National Enterprise Development Rohitha Bogollagama said that the aim of this exercise is to transform the SME sector into a nerve centre of the development process to achieve a balanced economic growth, regionally distributed benefits, high levels of employment and productivity. Dr. Bandula Perera, the newly appointed acting chairman of the SME Bank said the SME Bank will work very closely with the two leading public sector banks, Industrial Development Board (IDB) Export Development Board (EDB) and leading Chambers of Industries and Commerce to implement the SME Bank activities for the benefit and development of the SME sector. Project viability will be the main criterion considering the assistance and loan applications by the small and medium sector entrepreneurs from the SME Bank, he said. Dr. Perera said the IDB has an exclusive branch network islandwide and their provincial officers have a major role to play to identify and assist thousands of small and medium entrepreneurs experiencing difficulties. "The SME Bank's policy is 'Bank to the people and not from the people to the bank", he said. Public funded institutions such as IDB and EDB policies should be entrepreneur friendly and such institutions should bring entrepreneur projects or proposals to the bank, he said. The interest rates for project loans of the SME Bank will be definitely
low. The present government has identified the SME sector as a key player to
economic development and by providing assistance through the SME Bank to the
SME sector the government feels that the SME sector will contribute much to
the rapid economic development and it would especially reduce the gap
between the rural and urban population. |
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