State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Reform: Challenges and Opportunities for Sri Lanka 5 September 2023 Serendipity Knowledge Program (SKOP) is an ADB platform dedicated to identifying knowledge solutions for Sri Lanka’s development challenges. Serendib is one of Sri Lanka’s ancient names and serendipity refers to a fortunate finding, which is a common occurrence throughout the history of product invention and scientific discovery. ADB established this new knowledge program in 2021 in line with its vision as a knowledge solutions bank. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have played an important role in the economic development of countries in Asia and the Pacific. SOEs have also played an important role in Sri Lanka’s socio-economic development over the last several decades. After the economic crisis in 2022, Sri Lanka has embarked on deep economic reforms, including an ambitious SOE reform. This SKOP event will discuss opportunities and challenges for SOE reform in Sri Lanka. It brings together world-renowned experts on SOE reform who will share global lessons on navigating SOE reforms, establishment of SOE holding company, etc. It will also focus on the government of Sri Lanka’s approach to SOE reform, including policy-based assistance from International Financial Institutions, in the context of the current crisis. Program and Learning Materials 05 September 2023 Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) Presentation Key Note Slides Moderator Nirukthi Kariyawasam, Associate Economics Analyst Sri Lanka Resident Mission, ADB 9:20 - 9:30 AM Sri Lanka’s Approach to SOE Reform K M Mahinda Siriwardana Secretary to the Treasury, Sri Lanka 9:30 - 10:00 AM Keynote Presentation on SOE Reform: Lessons from Other Countries Dag Detter, Former President of Stattum and Director Ministry of Industry, Sweden 10:00 - 11:00 AM Panel Discussion on SOE Reform: Challenges and Opportunities for Sri Lanka 10:00 - 11:00 AM Moderator Roshan Perera, Senior Research Fellow, Advocata Institute, Sri Lanka 10:00 - 11:00 AM Panelists Christina Choo, Director International Relations, Temasek International Pte Ltd., Singapore (virtual) 10:00 - 11:00 AM Anne Molyneux, Member, OECD’s Business, and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), Consultant ADB, IFC, OECD, World Bank (virtual 10:00 - 11:00 AM Suresh Shah, Chairperson, SOE Restructuring Unit, Sri Lanka 10:00 - 11:00 AM David Robinett, Senior Public Management Specialist, Public Sector Management and Governance Sector, ADB 10:00 - 11:00 AM Adrian Torres, Director, Special Initiatives and Funds, Office of Markets Development and Public Private Partnership (OMDP), ADB (virtual) 11:00 - 11:40 AM Question and Answer Session 11:40 - 12:00 NN Closing Remarks Anuradha Kumarasiri, Director General National Planning Department, Sri Lanka Takafumi Kadono, Country Director Sri Lanka Resident Mission, ADB 12:00 NN Lunch Disclaimer The views expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Event Coordinator/s Uresha Walpitagama ADB Organizer/s South Asia Department Topics Governance and Public Sector Management Private Sector Capacity Development Knowledge Management Social Development and Protection