The Loan Facility Scheme will grant a maximum of Rs one million to an enterpreneur and the annual interest rate will be 15 per cent. The entrepreneurs who wish to obtain loans will be required to deposit cut and polished gems at the Lanka Puthra Development Bank, the Gem and Jewellery Authority said.

The Gem and Jewellery Authority Acting Deputy Director General Ajith Perera told The Island Financial Review that the provision of loan facilities to small and medium-scale gem entrepreneurs was initiated on the concept of Lanka Puthra Development Bank and National Enterprise Development Authority. It was an incentive scheme exclusively introduced to encourage small and medium-scale gem entrepreneurs to find potential buyers under the supervision of Gem and Jewellery Authority and Lanka Puthra Development Bank.

He pointed out that the gem entrepreneurs who wished to obtain loans would be required to get the valuation certificate issued by the Gem and Jewellery Authority and then only the Lanka Puthra Development Bank would accept the gems and grant loans up to 60 per cent value of each piece of gem to entrepreneur. The pre-requisite for any applicant for loans was that the entrepreneur should have a gem licence issued by the Gem authority and he or she must also have a due recommendation from a recognised trade association in their respective districts.

Perera said that the loan scheme was the first of its kind in Sri Lanka because the gem entrepreneurs would have a number of advantages to attract lucrative markets for their gems. The entrepreneurs would also be encouraged to bring any potential buyers to the Lanka Puthra Development Bank to show and sell their gems. If any buyer would wish to purchase particular gem he or she would have the opportunity to purchase the item and the entrepreneur could be able to settle his or her dues to the Lanka Puthra Development Bank.