By Ravi Ladduwahetty
Ceylon Finance Today: The government will soon ban the Employees Provident Fund from investing in listed banks and finance companies. "The government, through the Central Bank will bring in new guidelines where EPF Funds will be prohibited from investing in Colombo Stock Exchange listed banks and financial institutions, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva told Ceylon FT yesterday.
He was responding to a question from this newspaper whether the EPF Funds would be continued to be invested in the Colombo Stock Exchange, a practice that Dr. de Silva and the UNP was so vociferously critical of, while in the Opposition.
He explained that the Central Bank always had regulations preventing EPF investments in listed banks and finance companies due to the conflicts of interests, but they were changed by former Governor Ajit Nivard Cabraal.
New regulations would be brought where EPF Funds would not be invested not only in listed banks and finance companies, but also in non- blue chip stocks as well.
"We will be making a full study of all these implications and this would be done soon after we give the appropriate guidelines soon, he said.
Responding to a question about what he thinks of the alacrity of the systems change with the Central Bank itself having a serious crisis with Governor Arjuna Mahendran also under leave due to the Treasury Bond inquiry, he said that the inquiry and the amendments to the EPF investments would go simultaneously.
www.ceylontoday.lk
Ceylon Finance Today: The government will soon ban the Employees Provident Fund from investing in listed banks and finance companies. "The government, through the Central Bank will bring in new guidelines where EPF Funds will be prohibited from investing in Colombo Stock Exchange listed banks and financial institutions, Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Affairs Dr. Harsha de Silva told Ceylon FT yesterday.
He was responding to a question from this newspaper whether the EPF Funds would be continued to be invested in the Colombo Stock Exchange, a practice that Dr. de Silva and the UNP was so vociferously critical of, while in the Opposition.
He explained that the Central Bank always had regulations preventing EPF investments in listed banks and finance companies due to the conflicts of interests, but they were changed by former Governor Ajit Nivard Cabraal.
New regulations would be brought where EPF Funds would not be invested not only in listed banks and finance companies, but also in non- blue chip stocks as well.
"We will be making a full study of all these implications and this would be done soon after we give the appropriate guidelines soon, he said.
Responding to a question about what he thinks of the alacrity of the systems change with the Central Bank itself having a serious crisis with Governor Arjuna Mahendran also under leave due to the Treasury Bond inquiry, he said that the inquiry and the amendments to the EPF investments would go simultaneously.
www.ceylontoday.lk
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