Sri Lanka has revived the process of privatizing of state-run carrier SriLankan Airlines that has a debt of at least $1 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The island nation’s finance ministry will reportedly seek preliminary bids by September or October, and there has been “fairly serious” interest in the sale, Bloomberg says, while the government expects to be in talks with at least two parties by the first quarter of next year.
Emirates held 44 per cent of SriLankan Airlines until 2010, when the government bought the stake following the end of a 26-year civil war.
Bloomberg reports the company’s accumulated losses stood at 141.1 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($879 million) as of March 2017, according to its annual report.
