One of the promising contenders for the purchase of the Sri Lankan government’s majority stake in Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (SLT) is Jio Platforms, the telecommunications entity of Reliance Industries. SLT, a state-owned company, serves as the leading telco in Sri Lanka, with a strong subscriber base of over 8.5 million.
Dating back to November, the Sri Lankan government expressed its interest in offloading its shares in SLT. The other two frontrunners for this purchase are Pettigo Comercio International LDA, a Portuguese holding company, and Fortune International Investment Holding Ltd, according to a public statement made last week. Following the passage of the registration deadline on January 12th, the Finance Ministry published the list of potential buyers.
The government, using Special Guidelines on Divestiture of State-Owned Enterprises approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, will carefully evaluate these registrations of interest. The aim is to finalize the successful bidder by the coming quarter’s end.
In recent times, the Sri Lankan government disclosed its plan to privatize various sectors. Such a restructuring move intends to ameliorate the deep fiscal challenges plaguing the country, a condition deemed necessary by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to receive a $3 billion loan agreed upon in 2023.
The country’s profound economic crisis came to the forefront in 2022, spiraling into a national emergency induced by extensive power cuts, fuel shortages, and widespread protests across the nation.
