Sri Lanka luxury resort developers to raise equity

Sept 10, 2009 (LBO) – Developers of a luxury island resort managed by the Six Senses chain in Sri Lanka who have set up an investment fund will seek to raise further cash through a private share offering, an official said. Neil De Silva, chairman of Dutch Bay Resorts which is to build the resort in north-western Kalpitiya, said investors can get returns from the first phase resort project as well as sale of luxury villas to wealthy clients in the second phase.

The resort project has been given a 15-year tax holiday from the Board of Investment and other incentives usually given to big projects by the investment promotion agency.

The six-star Dutch Bay Resort project, to be ready by 2011, is a joint venture between Six Senses and Swarna Dweep, an investment vehicle.

Swarna Dweep, set up by European investors and De Silva, a Sri Lankan entrepreneur, currently operating in Europe and the Middle East, has a 51 percent stake in Dutch Bay Resorts.

Sri Lanka has been a missed opportunity, De Silva said. Now, with the war over, we’d like to better use this opportunity and bring in foreign friends and Sri Lankans overseas for equity investments.

The island’s tourism sector is expected to boo