The government will start a new Development Bank and will offer LKR 10 billion in loans to Sri Lankan entrepreneurs during the first round of financing,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
Speaking at the Northern Entrepreneur Awards 2017 organised by the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) in association with Yalpanam Chamber of Commerce, in Jaffna, the Premier said that entrepreneurs in the Northern Province will get special incentives to promote entrepreneurship.
“Capital for development will also be given. Northern entrepreneurs will get larger tax reliefs. Tax relief for Capital expenditure is 200% at present but it will be increased to 300%. If your new industry is an industry targeting exports, then the tax is only 14% ,” he said.
The Prime Minister also said that the government is negotiating with India for a major development project for the Northern Province in the scale of the historic Mahaweli project’.
“We are in talks with India for Northern development, in the next 10 years. There was a strong base of entrepreneurship during pre-war times in the North, which the prolonged war destroyed. Some Northern entrepreneurs switched to Colombo while others migrated. Now we should rebuild the economy and speed up growth here, bringing north in par with the rest," he added.
Leave your comments
Login to post a comment
Post comment as a guest