Sale process of SriLankan Airlines abandoned

The Cabinet of ministers has terminated the current sale process of SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka’s State Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit said.

The government “will now follow an alternate strategy, to be decided on shortly, to divest the airline based on a framework approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.”

Six parties responded to the initial call for expressions of interest, but no party was pre-qualified.

Sri Lanka “would like to see a Sri Lankan entrepreneur or consortium” buying into the airline but there was no firm interest, Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said on July 03.

The parties should have a strong balance sheet and expertise, as there were the jobs of 6,000 people at stake, he said.