Financial Times

Top British soccer players buy Lankan villas
By Lenin Amarawickrama
Fifteen top British soccer players have purchased villas at a luxury apartment complex coming up in the south owned by a Sri Lankan multinational group "I can't disclose their names but they have purchased 15 out of 30 luxury apartments under construction," said Deepthi Perera, CEO of ASPIC Corp.

The villas are being constructed by the group's ASPIC Development Private Ltd in a 150 million-rupee project. ASPIC is also investing Rs 50 million in a buyout of the troubled Central Investment and Finance Company (CIFC) and wants to use the funds this unit would generate for community development projects.

It stepped in after the CICF's capital reserve fell to Rs 26 million, as there was a draw on its funds by depositors, and was insufficient to meet the Central Bank's reserve requirements.

Perera said they don't intend to depend on deposits but would invest private funds from ASPIC companies to raise money for community development programmes including creating pre schools for poor children in places like Mahiyangana. He said ASPIC was confident of reviving the company.

The group, based in Colombo, has sister companies in Australia, Taiwan, Dubai, Hong Kong, India and UK. For the past nine months, the group's activities in Sri Lanka involved launching the ASPIC Agricultural Livestock Development Co at an investment of Rs 20 million on a 35-hectare model farm in Chilaw. The farm produces 50 tons of chicken per batch (38 days). The company is being expanded to produce vegetables, fruits, pork and mutton using some Thai technology.

"Our company began as a regional distribution network and today we are the principle distributors for Pepsi and many other major products like Munchee biscuits in the country," he said, adding that as a distribution company it has reached out to the grassroots and small vendors in the past nine months.

"We could have easily invested our funds in the stock market for an easy buck but we want to create more employment opportunities specially in the rural sector."

ASPIC Development is also planning a low cost housing programme for government servants in the first ever private sector housing scheme for government workers.

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