As SriLanka is slowly coming out of the financial crisis, the country now considers to restructure its loss making national carrier, and the primary reason is, there are no suitable suitors for the SriLankan Airlines, as per the SriLankan Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.
Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers have not yet approved a set of prequalified bidders for state-run SriLankan Airlines, Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.
Minister de Silva addressing a press briefing at the Presidential Media Centre yesterday said that Sri Lanka “would like to see a Sri Lankan entrepreneur or consortium” buying into the airline but there was no firm interest,
While only 49 percent of the shares of the carrier can be transferred to another entity, de Silva pointed out that there has been “minimal global interest in the opportunity”. “... only six individuals expressing interest, none of whom were deemed suitable."
"Even if we were to extend this opportunity to a Sri Lankan entrepreneur, their capabilities would need to be demonstrated,”
"The parties should have a strong balance sheet and expertise, as there were the jobs of 6,000 people at stake, he said."
He added that the SriLankan government’s approach involves in restructuring the airline rather than selling it outright.
Related Article....
In April, Requests for Qualification were received from AirAsia Consulting Sdn. Bhd., Dharshaan Elite Investment Holding (Pvt.) Ltd, FITS Aviation (Private) Limited, Sherisha Technologies Private Limited, Treasure Republic Guardians Limited and Hayleys PLC.
Considering the difficulty of attracting investors, with the debt burden of SriLankan Airlines, the government decided to transfer US $ 310 million worth of local loans guaranteed by the General Treasury to the government.
The SriLankan government has offered assistance by issuing a Rs.5 billion equity contribution to support its ongoing cash flow problems in the first four months of 2024, to safeguard the national carrier that a fleet of less than 20 aircraft at this time.
Noteworthy is, SriLankan Airlines recorded a revenue of Rs.333.6 billion in the fiscal year 2023/24, a decrease of 8.6 percent, compared to Rs.365.2 billion in 2022/23.
Statistics emphasize that it has posted a profit before tax of Srilankan Rupees 7.3 billion for the FY 2023/24, compared to a Srilankan Rupees 73.3 billion loss recorded in FY 2022/23, which was mainly due to converting the exchange loss of Srilankan Rupees 25.6 billion in FY 2022/23 to an exchange gain of Srilankan Rupees 0.5 billion in FY 2023/24.
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva also announced that the management of the financially burdened Mattala International Airport will soon be entrusted to a joint venture between Russia and India.
You may like to read.....
