Advocata SOE Briefing Note : Getting the State Out of Business: The Compelling Case for Privatisation of State-Owned Businesse

Sri Lanka's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are a major hindrance to the country’s economic prosperity. The state's footprints extend across all major industries - telecommunications, banking, ports, petroleum, and power generation. With over 400 SOEs spread across 33 sectors and employing roughly 250,000 workers, they form an inefficient, bloated bureaucracy. The IMF's Governance Diagnostic Assessment flags SOEs as being high-risk for corruption, plagued by weak management, shoddy oversight, rigged procurement processes, political interference, and a lack of transparency. Sri Lanka cannot afford the status quo. Decisive action to privatise SOEs is essential to break free from the cycle of inefficiency and corruption, and unlock sustainable economic growth.

Here is the link to the Advocata SOE Briefing Note in English on

Getting the State Out of Business: The Compelling Case for Privatisation of State-Owned Businesses

Here is the link to the Advocata SOE Briefing Note in Sinhala

Here is the link to the Advocata SOE Briefing Note in Tamil

THE STATE OF STATE ENTERPRISES IN SRI LANKA – 2022

As a group, these SOEs have suffered large losses that have contributed to the present macroeconomic problems facing the country. The state has to make good on these losses, increasing public deficits that have to be financed by borrowing from the Central Bank, has exacerbated this issue further, which has brought high inflationary pressures into the economy. Losses of these enterprises contribute to macroeconomic instability given the perilous state of our overall finances. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Ceylon Electricity Board and SriLankan Airlines need immediate reform or sale to a private party to arrest the growing magnitude of this problem. Previous attempts to address this problem have attracted controversy. Our general population is not prepared to allow disposal of enterprises despite their record of making large losses year after year. Apart from the macroeconomic problem, the country has a large productivity and efficiency problem that requires more resources to keep growing even at the same rate given that productivity and efficiency issues have not been addressed adequately.

Advocata's 2022 Report "State of State Owned Enterprises 2022 " is a deep dive on the impact of State Owned Enterprises, on Sri Lanka's economy.

Dr Franziska Ohnsorge on Advocata Conversations | Ep.11| Murtaza Jafferjee | Dr Franziska Ohnsorge

We are back with our 11th episode of Advocata Conversations!

This is a series of discussions, where we converse with esteemed industry leaders on policy and economy! With Advocata Conversations we aim to capture insights from experienced policymakers on policy reforms and their impact.

Our 11th episode is between Dr Franziska Ohnsorge ,Chief Economist at South Asia World Bank. She has been responsible for leading research programs on key economic issues in South Asia along with informing policy debates and World Bank lending. Prior to joining the World Bank, Franziska Ohnsorge worked in the Office of the Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and at the International Monetary Fund.

This conversation converses between Dr .Franziska and the Chair of Advocata, Murtaza Jafferjee.

The conversation focuses on the Title -South Asia Development Update 2024

Dr Franziska Ohnsorge in this conversation discusses about launching the South Asia development semi annual report that the World Bank produces on the growth Outlook of the region, further focusing on occupying policy makers. She pertains to describe this year’s report mainly involves on two things ; climate adaptation and creating more jobs in the market.

Bridge to Recovery:Boosting Employment and Productivity for Economic Growth

The World Bank in partnership with the Sri Lanka Press Institue and the Advocata Institute will be hosting a webinar on the 2nd of April, from 11:30 am-12:30pm, on the topic ‘Bridge to Recovery: Boosting Employment and Productivity for Economic Growth’.

The event will feature panelists, Dr Sanjeeva Weerawarana (Chief Executive Officer, WSO2), Ms. Shyamali Ranaraja (Visiting Lecturer, Dept. of Law University of Peradeniya), Dr,Franziska Ohnsorg (Chief Economist, South Asia World Bank), Mr.Murtaza Jafferjee (Chairman, Advocata Institute). The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Gregory Smith (Lead Economist Maldives, Nepal & Sri Lanka, World Bank).

The discussion will be livestreamed on Advocata Institute Facebook and Youtube Channel, as well as the World Bank’s Facebook page

WPAN Policy Brief : Closing The Divide through Women's Access to Finance

Financial inclusion is the access individuals and businesses have to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs, such as for transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance. They also must be delivered in a responsible and sustainable way promoting engagement in the formal financial sector.  Access to affordable finance aims to enhance living standards, increase income, stimulate business investment, reduce unemployment, and foster economic growth by expanding financial networks and reducing barriers to entry. 

Here is the link to the WPAN Policy Brief on Closing the Divide through Women’s Access to Finance

Sir Roger Owen Douglas on Advocata Conversations | Ep.10 | Murtaza Jafferjee | Sir Roger Douglas

We are back with our tenth episode of 'Advocata Conversations!'

This is a series of discussions, where we converse with esteemed industry leaders on policy and economy! With Advocata Conversations we aim to capture insights from experienced policymakers on policy reforms and their impact. This episode is between Sir Roger Owen Douglas, Former Minister of Finance, New Zealand and the Chair of Advocata, Murtaza Jafferjee. In this conversation Sir Roger speaks about his political leadership, policy-making, and legacy. He also discusses the political and economic reforms in New Zealand and addresses tax reforms and the importance of transparency.

Check out our previous episode with Prof Chin-Huat Wong, Deputy Head (Strategy) UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Asia Headquarters, Sunway University

South Asia Economic Outlook: World Bank | Infrastructure Challenges & Economic Growth | Murtaza Jafferjee | Maurizio Bussolo

In this episode of Advocata Studio, Advocata Chair, Murtaza Jafferjee is joined by Maurizio Bussolo, (Lead Economist, Chief Economist Office for South Asia, The World Bank). In this video he discusses with Murtaza Jafferjee on trade, gender inequality, and economic growth in South Asia, and its impact on productivity. He also addresses the South Asia's economic growth and infrastructure challenges.

Watch the full discussion here:

Maurizio Bussolo, (Lead Economist, Chief Economist Office for South Asia, The World Bank) also presents a report on South Asia's economic outlook, highlighting slowing growth and challenges such as weak private investment and fiscal position.

The presentation by Maurizio on South Asia Development Update: Toward faster, Cleaner Growth can be accessed here

IMF in Sri Lanka: Supporting Governance Reforms | Murtaza Jafferjee | Peter Breuer | Joel Turkewitz

In this episode of Advocata Studio, Advocata Chair, Murtaza Jafferjee is joined by representatives from the International Monetary Fund, Peter Breuer (Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, International Monetary Fund) & Joel Turkewitz (Deputy Division Chief in the Legal Department, International Monetary Fund)

The Sri Lanka Technical Assistance Report - Governance Diagnostic Assessment can be accessed here.

Prof Chin-Huat Wong on Advocata Conversations | Ep.09 | Murtaza Jafferjee | Prof Chin-Huat Wong

We are back with our ninth episode of 'Advocata Conversations!'

This is a series of discussions, where we converse with esteemed industry leaders on policy and economy! With Advocata Conversations we aim to capture insights from experienced policymakers on policy reforms and their impact. Our ninth episode is between Prof Chin-Huat Wong, Deputy Head (Strategy) UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Asia Headquarters, Sunway University and the Chair of Advocata, Murtaza Jafferjee. He has been a keen observer of Malaysian politics for more than 25 years, and was active in the civil society-based Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) for 17 years after his recent retired.

Check out our previous episode with Iain Rennie, Managing Director of Iain Rennie Consulting and the Former State Services Commissioner of New Zealand

Iain Rennie on Advocata Conversations | Ep.08 | Murtaza Jafferjee | Iain RennieI

We are back with our eight episode of 'Advocata Conversations!'

This is a series of discussions, where we converse with esteemed industry leaders on policy and economy! With Advocata Conversations we aim to capture insights from experienced policymakers on policy reforms and their impact. Our eight episode is between Iain Rennie, Managing Director of Iain Rennie Consulting and the Former State Services Commissioner of New Zealand and the Chair of Advocata, Murtaza Jafferjee.

Check out our previous episode with Dr Irvin Studin, founder, editor-in-chief, publisher of Global Brief magazine, & the president of The Institute for 21st Century Questions, a leading Canadian think tank

Dr Irvin Studin on Advocata Conversations | Ep.07 | Murtaza Jafferjee | Dr Irvin Studin

We are back with our seventh episode of 'Advocata Conversations!'

This is a series of discussions, where we converse with esteemed industry leaders on policy and economy! With Advocata Conversations we aim to capture insights from experienced policymakers on policy reforms and their impact. Our seventh episode is between Dr Irvin Studin, founder, editor-in-chief, publisher of Global Brief magazine, & the president of The Institute for 21st Century Questions, a leading Canadian think tank and the Chair of Advocata, Murtaza Jafferjee.

Note that this is the audio of the conversation between Murtaza & Dr Studin.

Check out our previous episode with Dr Swarnim Waglé, an Elected Member of Federal Parliament of Nepal and former Chief Economic Advisor at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP) in New York

Dr Swarnim Waglé on Advocata Conversations | Ep.06 | Murtaza Jafferjee | Dr Swarnim Waglé

We are back with our sixth episode of 'Advocata Conversations!'

This is a series of discussions, where we converse with esteemed industry leaders on policy and economy! With Advocata Conversations we aim to capture insights from experienced policymakers on policy reforms and their impact.

Our sixth episode is between Dr Swarnim Waglé, an Elected Member of Federal Parliament of Nepal and former Chief Economic Advisor at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP) in New York and the Chair of Advocata, Murtaza Jafferjee. Dr Swarnim Waglé discusses his journey from joining the The World Bank and the UNDP in Asia and the Pacific in New York to becoming an elected Member of Federal Parliament in Nepal. He also further explores on the economic developments of countries in South Asia like Vietnam, Pakistan and Nepal.

Check out our previous episode with Dr Reza Baqir, the Former Governor, State Bank of Pakistan and the Chair of Advocata, Murtaza Jafferjee.

අපේ ඉරණම තීරණය කරන අයවැය with Prof. Abeyratne, Prof. Samarajiva & Pasan Wijayawardhana

With the current economic crisis, the 2023 budget is critical to setting the fiscal direction of the country. How will the government tackle reducing the budget deficit, what tax and expenditure reforms will be brought in, and how will they commit to tackling the rising socio-economic issues such as poverty and malnutrition

Advocata hosted an online post-budget 2023 discussion, with Prof Rohan Samarajiva (Founding Chair, LIRNEasia | Advisor, Advocata Institute), Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne (Professor in Economics | Department of Economics, University of Colombo), moderated by Pasan Wijayawardhana (Economic Research Analyst, Advocata Institute) on Thursday, November 17th at 6.00PM

Short presentations on government expenditure and revenue trends was also done by Udahiruni Atapattu (Research Analyst, Advocata Institute) and Thashikala Mendis (Data Analyst, Advocata Institute).

Watch the full video on our YouTube channel

You can access the presentation from the discussion by Thashikala Mendis and Udahiruni Atapattu below

Taxation, Stability and Growth by Thashikala Mendis

Government Expenditure Trends by Udahiruni Atapattu

#ReformNow Conference: Let's Reset Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since independence. Advocata Institute organised Sri Lanka’s first ever reset economic conference prioritizing economic recovery and growth. You can now watch these conferences once again on the Advocata Youtube channel and Advocata+ Youtube Channel.

Sessions of the conference were live-streamed on 05th and 06th August 2022 on the Advocata Institute Facebook page!

During the conference Advocata Institute launched it latest report and a policy product tracking the performance of State Owned Enterprises

To access the the platform and report visit https://soe.lk/

This report can be accessed below.

The State of State Owned Enterprises in Sri Lanka

Watch the full sessions on our YouTube channel

You can access the presentation from our sessions below:

Debt Crisis, Structural Adjustment and Trade Policy by Prof Prema-chandra Athukorale

Centralizing the State's Ownership Function by Daniel Alphonsus

State of State-Owned Enterprises by Ravi Rathnasabapathy

Air India Privatisation Story – takeaways for Sri Lanka by Thilan Wijesinghe

Taxation, Stability and Growth by Dr. Roshan Perera

Taxation, Stability and Growth by Prof. Mick Moore

Resetting Samurdhi -Social Safety Nets by Dr Stephen Kidd

Resetting Samurdhi - Social Safety Nets by Ms Gayani Hurulle

Context setting - Labour market Presentation by Udahirini

Labour market reforms for more inclusive growth by Ms Shyamali Ranaraja

Unlocking Land for development – Current Land Utilisation by Migara Rodrigo

Unlocking urban potential by Mr Nayana Mawilmada

Agricultural land by Dr Roshan Rajadurai

The Case For Private Industrial Zones – Lessons From The Dominican Republic by Mr Juan Jimenez

#ReformNow # Let’sResetSriLanka

Day 01 - August 05th

Day 02 - August 06th

Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Advocata Conversations | Ep.01 | Murtaza Jafferjee | Dr Sarath Rajapatirana

The Advocata Institute launches its episode on Advocata Conversations, the new series of discussions, where we converse with esteemed industry leaders on policy and economy! With Advocata Conversations we aim to capture insights of experienced policymakers on policy reforms and its impact.

Our first episode is between Advocata Chairperson, Murtaza Jafferjee, Advocata Academic Advisor, Dr. Sarath Rajapathirana, and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Former Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission of India.

In this episode, he discusses his experiences working with the Indian government, his expertise on the economy, his family, and his latest work as a writer.

Watch the full discussion here.

Read the transcript for the full discussion here.

Watch this video on Youtube 

K D Vimanga on Newsline in conversation with Sharlan Benedict 22/06/2021

K D Vimanga, Policy Analyst at Advocata Insitute on News1st NEWSLINE program 22/06/2021. She addresses the policy stability the need of the hour on Newsline with Sharlan Benedict.

"The most important thing we need to realize about public policy is that it deals with peoples issues and the issues that impact their livelihood. And then we analyze those issues. As a policy-maker or policy analyst what we do is try and propose solutions that are equitable, in line with the development and with other factors. The problem in Sri Lanka is that we haven't prioritized this process."

Click here to watch the full video:

Dr. Roshan Perera on Newsline in conversation with Sharlan Benedict 18/06/2021

Dr. Roshan Perera, Senior Visiting Fellow at Advocata Insitute on News1st NEWSLINE program 18/06/2021. She addresses the policy stability the need of the hour on Newsline with Sharlan Benedict.

"The fundamental problem that Sri Lanka is facing, which it has been for decades, is our twin deficit problem. We have both a fiscal and external deficit. Basically, we have been living beyond our means and consuming more than we produce. We must address this problem."

Click here to watch the full video:

Murtaza Jafferjee on Face the Nation: Overcoming Sri Lanka's economic woes

Murtaza Jafferjee Chair of Advocata Institute was featured on the News1st Face the Nation: Overcoming Sri Lanka's economic woes that was aired on the 14th of April 2021.

'It is a pity that we have been playing politics with fuel prices. The first time I recollect a fuel pricing formula was put into operation was back in the early 2000s. In 2005 this program was suspended by the new government. It's by far the single largest component of our import bill. So it's vital that we price it correctly. This price increase was long overdue. Even now we are running at a loss.' - Murtaza Jafferjee

Click here to watch the full video:

Aneetha Warusavitarana on Newsline in conversation with Sharlan Benedict 14/06/2021

Aneetha Warusavitarana (Research Manager at the Advocata Institute) speaks about the fuel pricing mechanisms & economy. SHe addresses this on Newsline with Sharlan Benedict. June 14, 2021.

'Ideally the solution that would work best here is a fuel pricing formula. A crucial factor is that this formula is transparent. The way in which it is calculated should be made available to the public, it should be vetted by the relevant authorities and we should be able to understand how this formula works and how it is linked to international changes in fuel prices.'

Click here to watch the full video:

Murtaza Jafferjee on Face the Nation: Port City Economic Commission Bill, the good, the bad and the ugly

Murtaza Jafferjee Chairman of Advocata Institute was featured on the News1st Face the Nation: Port City Economic Commission Bill, the good, the bad and the ugly programme that was aired on the 19th of April 2021. Murtaza comments on the Good and the Bad of port city and why do we need the Port City workaround

Click here to watch the full video: