Saturday 21 November 2015

Sri Lanka to sell-off state shares in Hilton, Hyatt, hospitals and telco firms

ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka's will sell-off 'non-strategic' enterprises including hotels, hospitals and a telecom firm, including ones that have been included in corruption scandals in the recent past.

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake in his budget speech for 2016 said Hotel Developers Plc - which owns a building that houses Colombo Hilton was expropriated by the Rajapaksa regime while being a listed company - would sold in the Colombo Stock Exchange.

Lanka Hospitals, a firm that was bought by cash-rich Sri Lanka Insurance when it was privatized fell into state hands when SLIC was reverted to state hands through court decision during the tenor of Sarath Silva, a controversial Chief Justice, would also be sold off.

Lanka Hospital was then largely under the control ousted Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother, Gotabhaya.

Using Sri Lanka Insurance, the Rajapaksa's also bought back Shell Gas which now operates as Litro Gas.

The building that houses Hyatt Hotel, would also be sold off. The Rajapaksa administration also expropriated the half built structure which was part of the collapsed Ceylinco property group and used the funds of cash-rich SLIC to re-build it.

The current administration has alleged corruption, inflated contracts and kickbacks to Rajapaksa appointees who were appointed to handle the money.

State shares in Ceylinco Hospitals would also be sold off.

Mobitel, is a unit of listed Sri Lanka Telecom, which has a Malaysian shareholder. The Sri Lanka Telecom is also at the centre of an alleged asset stripping controversy.

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