Sri Lanka to overhaul national airline
Press Trust of India: The Sri Lankan Government will restructure the loss-making national flag carrier after efforts to find a buyer for its management control failed, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said.
Presenting the 2025-26 Budget on Friday, Dissanayake said: “There are no buyers”, referring to efforts by the successive governments to divest the Sri Lankan Airlines’ management from government control.
The national carrier’s divestiture became crucial with the tough conditions attached to Sri Lanka’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout of nearly $ 3 billion, extended in 2023 after the island nation announced its first-ever sovereign default.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka, which is on a steady economic growth path, is engaged in a programme to reform and restructure state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as part of its overall reform and development programme. Like the development programme, the SOE reforms programme has also opened many business/investment opportunities. The Sri Lankan government has also expressed keen interest in attracting more foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the country while also promoting public-private partnerships (PPPs) by offering incentive schemes and improving the ease of doing business environment in the country. All these indicate that there are many business/investment opportunities for foreign businesses/investors on the lookout for lucrative ventures in Sri Lanka. Given the increasing business potential in Sri Lanka supported by Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the strong trade ties enjoyed with many foreign countries, the country is an emerging business destination in the region that is the ideal business destination for foreign businesses/investors in South Asian region.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20251114/Z_1 |