RIYADH, 22 September — In an effort to attract foreign investment to revive its civil war ravaged economy, Sri Lanka’s national telecom company has decided to allocate 15 percent of its shares for potential investors in the Kingdom and elsewhere.
This was disclosed by Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, Sri Lankan minister of mass communications, who said the share flotation was part of the island republic’s plan to privatize the telecom sector and streamline telecommunication services that were crippled during the civil war.
He was speaking to Arab News at a one-day arts exhibition organized by the United Lanka Forum (ULF) at the Sri Lankan Embassy here. The theme of the exhibition was "Peace and Harmony," featuring 65 of the Presidential Award winning entries of the All-Island Art Competition sponsored by ULF. Sri Lankan Ambassador Ibrahim Sahib Ansar, Lalith De Silva, Jizwi Nizar, patron and president respectively of ULF, besides a large number of Sri Lankan expatriates were also present.
The exhibition was conceived by Lalith to promote harmony among Sri Lanka’s different religions.
Referring to Sri Lanka’s privatization drive, the minister said it had picked up momentum, with Japan currently holding 35 percent of Sri Lanka Telecom Company’s shares. The SLTC has been fully privatized. "Now is the best time to invest in Sri Lanka, which is enjoying peace after a long spell of civil war."
He said the Sri Lankan government had embarked on expansion of the telecom facilities on the island. "In the past there were only three telephone exchanges operating in the civil war-affected areas of Jaffna, Trincomalee and Batticalao in the northeastern parts of the island. Now, more than 10,000 lines have been commissioned."
"A noteworthy aspect of the investment opportunities is that they are open to both Sri Lankan expatriates and other overseas investors," he said. The minister arrived in Riyadh on his way to Morocco for participating in the annual meeting of the International Telecommunications Union. Later, he left for Makkah to perform Umrah. In Jeddah yesterday, the minister met with Sri Lankan expatriates‚ associations as well as representatives of their sports clubs.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Ansar said a 10-member delegation of journalists would visit the Kingdom on a familiarization tour next month. It will be the first such visit.
