The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity. I will focus on the Companies (Amendment) Bill.

¶ 02 First, why is the Registrar of Companies’ software not working properly? An agreement of 30 June lapsed; the journey began on 2 April 2018 to build Sri Lanka’s first paperless department. Even now, operations are sluggish. Since 1 July, the Sri Lanka Army has been asked to support the system. I appreciate the Minister’s courtesy in responding.

¶ 03 This vendor earned about Rs. 150 million per month in revenue while charging a 1 per cent fee (Rs. 1.5 million) as cost—this needed better commercial scrutiny. The ROC must manage its own system effectively.

¶ 04 When services moved online, our “ease of doing business” improved; a company could be incorporated within a day. Previously around 100 companies were registered per day; now it is down to 20–28. There are about 236,000 companies. ASYCUDA too has issues. Please modernize the system properly—this is not a two-week software job. We need stable, scalable solutions, not delays that even frustrate court orders reliant on filings.

¶ 05 On the Foreign Exchange Act amendments: policy seems to rely on courts and police rather than economic logic. Do not signal left and turn right. Investor confidence is being eroded. Limiting outward payments to US$750,000 for ordinary companies while suspending Colombo Stock Exchange–listed outward investments will not attract serious investors. You cannot acquire meaningful assets with US$750,000. If you invite global players—say Trump or Adani—can you practically demand disclosure of every upstream beneficial owner in places like Dubai or the Bahamas? Clause 130J on “beneficial owner” and “effective control” risks impractical reach when foreign registries already accept filings. If we pursue them with CID-style inquiries, no investor will come.

¶ 06 We need a strong economy beyond party colours. Today, operations are “successful” but the patient dies. Let us fix this.

¶ 07 On energy: why pay Rs. 110 per kWh for thermal while hesitating to pay Rs. 25–35 for renewables? Rationalize costs. On LNG: cancelling Petronet after India helped us with US$4 billion was unwise; shifting to suppliers without LNG production capacity makes no sense. Use LNG to secure US market access—New Fortress Energy and others showed interest. Countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Japan have reduced tariffs to gain US investment.

¶ 08 We must pursue FTAs—go to the UK and secure a deal; leverage Commonwealth links; invite M&S, Unilever and others. India balances relations—neither anti-West nor blindly pro-West—pursuing pragmatic, friendly policies. We must focus on market access and reduce para-tariffs.

¶ 09 Infrastructure delays are costly—Kadawatha–Meerigama expressway delays reportedly cost Rs. 21 million per day; who accounts for Rs. 6 billion losses post-handover? After 76 years plus nine months under your watch, govern the economy economically, not politically.

¶ 10 Thank you.