• Transaction expected to be completed by Q1 ’24
• EOIs for Lanka Hospitals to be called next month

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) will be called from potential investors for the divestment of the Treasury’s stake in Hotel Developers Lanka Ltd. (The Hilton, Colombo) and Canwill Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. (Grand Hyatt, Colombo) by the end of this month, the State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit (SOERU) reveals. 

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, SOERU Head Suresh Shah stated that they were aiming to call for EOIs from potential investors for the divestment of the two hotels within September and that EOIs for Lanka Hospitals PLC would be called early next month.

Elaborating further, he stated: “The call for EOIs will be followed by Requests for Proposal (RFPs). Prospective investors will then have to submit their proposals, after which the proposals will be evaluated. Based on that, a decision will be made by the Cabinet.”

He revealed that the entire transaction for both Hilton and Grand Hyatt was expected to be completed by Q1 2024.

Shah stated that considering the inherent complexities involved in divesting the remaining SOEs, which included Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd., Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. and Litro Gas Terminals Ltd., SriLankan Airlines, and Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT), the process of soliciting EOIs would require additional time, but would be completed during Q4 2023.

Accordingly, he expressed expectations that the relevant transactions for the divestment of all SOEs would be finalised by Q2 2024.