The Hon. Chathuranga Abeysinghe - Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, it is exactly one year since I took oaths as Deputy Minister. I consider it a privilege to speak on the 2026 Estimates for the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development.

¶ 02 When this debate began, no scientifically grounded arguments were presented by the Opposition against industrialization or entrepreneurship. I will set that aside and present facts.

¶ 03 Under the leadership of Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, with our Secretary and staff, chairpersons, personal staff, and officials of various ministries, we have worked to revive a broken industrial sector. The economy was bankrupt when handed to us. Entrepreneurs were in shock. About 16,000 were unable to service loans; properties were heading to bank auctions. Our 2025 work plan’s key aim was to restore confidence.

¶ 04 On results in 2025: despite fears about possible reciprocal tariffs from the US, we secured export growth of 7 percent; manufacturing grew by 9.7 percent; the Index of Industrial Production rose by 6 percent; the Purchasing Managers’ Index crossed 50; NPLs decreased by 20 percent, and willingness and capacity to lend/borrow rose by 20 percent. This indicates a more conducive environment for industry.

¶ 05 Ministry-specific outcomes: 118 applications for new industries were received; 89 registered. Thirty-eight investors sought land from the Ministry; 110 from the Industrial Development Board (IDB). In 2025 alone, 2,400 new entrepreneurs registered with IDB; 1,294 under NEDA; 15,241 at SED; and 482 new exporters via the EDB.

¶ 06 Under the TIEP scheme, 993 registrations in 2025 reoriented domestic producers towards exports. For MSMEs, by September we disbursed Rs. 1.3 billion in capex support to 201 businesses, with Rs. 3 billion more in process; under E-Friends, Rs. 400 million to 47 institutions. Clearly, industry and entrepreneurship are reactivating, with strong Ministry facilitation.

¶ 07 Fifteen concrete achievements in 2025: 1) We consolidated an integrated institutional architecture: EDB, NPS, SED (brought from Sports), and SLIM linked with Industry. 2) We unlocked land: reserved 1 percent of state land for industry (targeting 50,000 acres). Ten industrial parks are under construction; three completed; Suriyawewa, Raigama, and Aluthepola to start in early 2026; 50 plots allocated to new industries; IDB added 1,058 acres; 5,500 acres transferred under BOI to Industry. 3) MSME debt crisis: with our intervention, Finance Ministry invited entrepreneurs for restructuring; 1,093 responded; 200 restructured; another 245 to receive new loans up to Rs. 5 million within this month. 4) Productivity: relaunched National Productivity Awards via NPS; presented a National Productivity Master Plan with APO; launched the “41 Project” to support 1,000 entrepreneurs over three years; took productivity to village level. 5) Decentralization: set up Industrial Development Committees under District/Divisional Secretariats; from next year, digital access so entrepreneurs need not travel to Colombo. 6) Capacity building: with SLIM, invested Rs. 300 million to train our development officers as relations officers; senior staff formulated a five-year plan through workshops. 7) State enterprises: revived previously stagnant/closed entities — Paranthan Chemicals, Ceylon Ceramics, State Engineering Corporation, National Paper Co., National Salt Ltd.; progressed Lanka Phosphate, Lanka Mineral Sands, and Kanthale mines via PPP pathways; set about reviving Lanka Sugar and Laksala. 8) Credit: introduced a collateralized loan window with Treasury; over Rs. 4 billion granted to 800+ industrialists; scaled for Rs. 80 billion in 2026. 9) MSME framework: for the first time, a unified SME framework with ADB and World Bank, delivering end-to-end services from start-up to scale-up. 10) Exports: prepared an Export Development Plan with ADB to operationalize in 2026; revived the Export Development Council of Ministers, chaired by the President, meeting twice and resolving 22 issues; restarted VAT refunds for gems and jewellery; engaged EU trade missions on fairtrade; mobilized district-level exporter pipelines and budgeted for Expo 2026. 11) Policy: drafted Industrial Policy and MSME Policy; drove Tariff Policy with Trade; advanced Anti-Dumping policy; amended Bills of Exchange to aid industry; corrected VAT anomalies affecting apparel; set policies for coconut, fisheries, and spices exports; formulated new SOP for vehicle assembly. 12) Inter-ministerial integration: aligned with Agriculture, Science & Technology, Digital Economy, Trade, Foreign Affairs/Employment/Tourism, Education/Higher/Vocational, and Defence to channel retiring officers into entrepreneurship and to lead nationwide productivity drives with Public Administration and Fisheries. 13) Digitization: developing Industry 5.0 Index; creating a digital platform to manage the SME lifecycle; building an industry data system; launched GovPay to digitize payments; instituted internal performance monitoring; moving entities to ERP. 14) Institutional consolidation (2026): merging IDB, NEDA, and SED; merging NDC, Laksala, and Salsala; elevating SLITA to a university. 15) Planning and performance: a five-year plan with KPIs and performance agreements across the Ministry.

¶ 08 On “sugar shop” criticisms: we ran a nine-day pilot in Nugegoda and crossed 800,000 in sales volume. When markets block entry, we will find ways to win markets. I invite the Opposition to counter these 15 points with facts today.

¶ 09 Thank you.