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| Sunday, 20 June 2004 |
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Leasing of petrol stations on hold by Hiran H.Senewiratne The government has suspended its decision to lease out 100 petrol stations owned by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to a foreign company, Minister of Power and Energy Susil Premjayanth said. The Chinese company "Synopec (HongKong) Ltd " was selected through a competitive bidding system to lease out these stations during the previous regime. It was supposed to be the third entrant to the business under petroleum sector reforms. The minister said that the CPC is currently managing 200 petrol sheds in the country. A proposal to lease out 100 of its stations to the Chinese company has been suspended by the government. "It is up to the Treasury to decide to move forward in this matter," Minister Premjayanth said. At present the country's petrol stations are managed by the CPC, Indian Oil Company (IOC) of Sri Lanka and authorised dealers, the minister said. He stated that the CPC had leased out 100 of its 300 petrol stations out of its 300 to the IOC, however, the government is studying the situation on the viability of the latest deal. Minister Premjayanth also said that the leasing out of petrol sheds to the Chinese company is under the consideration of the Treasury. Meanwhile, the IOC is now planing to go for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) either by end July or early August to raise capital for the company's infrastructure development, its Managing Director M Nageswaran said. Currently, the LIOC is in the process of valuing the property to go for the IPO in the future, a company source said. According to Nageswaran, the IOC expects to raise Rs 1 billion from the IPO and the money will be utilised for the infrastructure development of the company. He said that the IOC, being a Fortune 500 company in the world manages nearly 100 petroleum stations in Sri Lanka and is now consolidating its position here . |
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