Sri Lankan government receives expressions of interest from 88 international companies for Hilton Colombo and Grand Hyatt
Finance Minister of Sri Lanka Mangala Samaraweera has announced that the government has received expressions of interest (EOI) from 88 international companies to purchase the Colombo Hilton and Grand Hyatt building.
“We have received expressions of interest from 88 international companies,” Samaraweera has said.
The Minister has further noted that the deadline for responses was also extended by two weeks to mid November.
Opposition MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara had in writing informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that there was not enough time for investors to respond by the end of the month, and that he would go to court.
However the government had said only few details of the investor was required in the EOI, and no financial bids are required at this stage.
According to the Minister, the initial two week response period for the tender ads published in international media has now been expanded by another two weeks, to end in mid-November.
He has added that the previous plan of floating the two companies on a special board on the Colombo Stock Exchange will not take place.
The Minister has added that it’s too early to mention how much the government could raise from the sales.
Colombo Hilton, which is a single tower hotel, has a foundation which allows another tower to be built with an investment of Rs. 4 billion and 2 additional acres of land to build commercial or residential property, but the government doesn’t have the cash to expand, the government of Sri Lanka has said.
It said that the yet-to-be completed Grand Hyatt has over Rs. 15 billion in public funds invested.
Lazard Asia of Singapore and MTI Consulting have been assigned by the Sri Lankan government as financial advisors to the sale.
OSL take:
The announcement by Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister that the country has received 88 expressions of interest from international companies to invest in two five star hotels in the country – the Colombo Hilton and Grand Hyatt Colombo – is indicative of the confidence of foreign businesses to invest in the island nation’s tourism sector. Given the country’s continuous growth recorded by the tourism sector, foreign businesses/investors could explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20181026/Z_2 |