President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma as the new Secretary to the Ministry of Finance. The letter of appointment was handed over to Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma by the Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake this morning (23) at the Presidential Secretariat. Dr. Suriyapperuma has been involved in capital market regulation for several years as a Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka, which operates under the Ministry of Finance. He successfully elevated Sri Lanka's ranking in the “Protecting Minority Investors" indicator within the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business, from 74th to 28th globally. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a Doctorate from the Management and Science University, Malaysia. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the United Kingdom. Dr. Suriyapperuma has represented the capital market as a member of the Anti-Money Laundering Task Force and has contributed to the formulation of current financial sector policies, including those for listing small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, he has held several key positions in leading private sector companies, including Chief Executive Officer roles. Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma previously served as the Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning.