COLOMBO: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has granted Sri Lanka a US$ 250 million loan to develop the country’s capital market.
Country Director of the ADB’s Sri Lanka Resident Mission Sri Widowati Thursday signed the grant agreement on behalf of ADB while Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance, signed for the Government of Sri Lanka. The specific objective of the proposed Capital Market Development Program (CMDP) is the enhanced capacity and size of the capital market that is grounded on a strong legal and regulatory framework.
Despite the large financing needs of the economy, the capital markets in Sri Lanka have not been particularly effective in channeling savings to support investment and growth.
The Ministry of Finance aims to utilize the loan for the development of an efficient, fixed and transparent Capital Market with a strong legal and regulatory framework, with the view of collecting financial resources required for the economic development productively through Sri Lankan Capital Market. The program loan will be released in two equal tranches of $125 million each.
The executing agency of the Capital market Development Program (CMDP) will be the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs in close coordination with the Department of Development Finance at the Ministry of Finance.
The implementing agency will be the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Sri Lanka. The program will be implemented over 3 years.
