Sri Lanka to call for EOIs for Hilton Colombo, Lanka Hospitals, Hyatt
Daily FT: The Government is to call for Expression of Interests (EOIs) first on Hotel Developers Lanka Ltd., owning company of Hilton Colombo, Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC and Canwill Holdings Ltd. (Hyatt) whilst for others it will be later.
The timeline for EOIs was announced recently by State Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit (SRU) Director General Suresh Shah during a presentation to the media involving Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena and Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe.
“The Request for EOIs for Hilton, Hyatt and Lanka Hospitals will be out shortly and for the others within the next five weeks,” Shah said.
He also said that the first round of divestitures is planned for the first quarter of next year and others during the second quarter.
Previous expectations among the private sector were that the initially selected SOEs will be divested by the end of this year.
The other entities are Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd. (SLIC), Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), Litro Gas Ltd. (Litro, including Litro Gas Terminals Ltd.) and Sri Lankan Airlines.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka is moving ahead with the restructuring of several identified state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which has presented a host of new business/investment opportunities. With Sri Lanka’s economy once again on the growth path after facing many challenges during the past few years, while also working towards becoming an emerging business destination in the South Asian region, investing in Sri Lanka would bring about definite returns to foreign businesses/investors. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country also add to the country’s attraction as a growing business destination. The growth and profits recorded by the country’s private sector even amidst challenging economic conditions during the past few years is further indicative of the resilience, strength and growth of Sri Lanka’s economy. Given all these factors, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the expanding business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20231011/Z_1 |