The Government has started liquidating 33 selected State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) as part of its SOE restructuring programme. The Cabinet approved a dedicated SOE restructuring unit in March 2026. The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development now runs the unit.
The unit is currently handling the liquidation of the 33 selected SOEs. The latest Finance report does not list the 33 SOEs or explain why the Government selected each entity. However, it confirms that the liquidation process is now underway.
How is the Government handling the SOE closures?
The Government created a dedicated unit to manage SOE restructuring. The unit works under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. It now oversees the liquidation work for the 33 selected state-owned enterprises.
Liquidation means formally closing an entity and dealing with its outstanding obligations. Therefore, the process involves more than simply stopping an SOE’s operations. The Government must also deal with liabilities linked to the selected enterprises.
Meanwhile, the Treasury is settling long-standing employee-related liabilities at selected SOEs. These liabilities include Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) contributions. They also include gratuity payments.
The Government included this work in its 2026 Budget proposal.
Rs.2.8 billion already settled
The Government allocated Rs.5 billion to settle these outstanding liabilities. By the end of August 2026, the Treasury had settled Rs.2.8 billion from that allocation. That means the Treasury had used 56% of the Rs.5 billion allocation by the end of August.
Based on the reported figures, Rs.2.2 billion remained from the original allocation at that point.
However, the Finance report does not say how much of this balance the Treasury has settled since August.
The latest figures therefore show two parts of the SOE reform process.
First, the dedicated restructuring unit is handling the liquidation of 33 selected SOEs. At the same time, the Treasury is settling old EPF, ETF and gratuity liabilities linked to selected state enterprises.
The Finance report does not give the names of the 33 SOEs. It also does not provide their individual assets, liabilities or expected liquidation dates.
For businesses and employees connected to these entities, those details will become important as the process moves forward.
For now, the Government has confirmed that the liquidation work is underway and that it has already settled Rs.2.8 billion of the Rs.5 billion allocated for outstanding employee-related liabilities.
Economic & Regulation Ministerial Update
Last modified: November 3, 2026
