July 07, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has bought a stake owned by Emirates in SriLankan Airlines for 53 million dollars taking full control of its national carrier, finance ministry secretary P B Jayasundera said.
Emirates managed the airline for 10 years from 1998. “Payment has been made and shares are held by (state-owned) Bank of Ceylon,” he told LBO.
Emirates held a 43.6 percent stake in SriLankan Airlines which it bought when the airline was privatised.
The government had retained a 51 percent stake of SriLankan.