The Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) has paid Rs. 6.7 billion to Harry Jayawardena controlled Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka (DCSL), which the latter incurred to acquire SLIC from the government, as the insurer has made good profits through share transactions, according to SLIC sources.
These monies were initially to be given by way of bonds as per the Supreme Court order in 2009, when it was declared that privatization deal which took place in 2003 to sell the SLIC to DCSL was illegal, but the government decided otherwise after seeing the profits gained through SLIC’s stock market transactions last year and had wanted the insurance giant to pay the money, a SLIC source told the Business Times.
He said that the government realised that SLIC had the capacity to pay this amount and wanted the insurer to meet this obligation on behalf of the state, which they did on December 31.
He said that SLIC has made 100% profit from its stock transactions last year. “We made more than Rs.10 billion in profit by investing in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE),” he said, adding that their total CSE portfolio is nearly Rs. 25 billion as at now.
SLIC’s life fund counts some Rs.70 billion, while the general fund has Rs. 30 billion.
He also said that as per the Insurance Board requirement SLIC will go public this year.“But it will be in the second half after June,” he added. He noted that SLIC is looking to list about 40% in the CSE.
He added that this year too, SLIC will ‘actively' play the share market and may also buy certain strategic stakes in state entities that are gearing to list in the CSE. |
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