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| Contact us:- Editor The Bottom Line |
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Board
of Investment Chief Dhammika Perera yesterday put speculation about
foreign management to rest after he said that the government would
take over the management of SriLankan, once the shareholder agreement
expires at the end of March. The
indication from official circles was that Emirates found President
Mahinda Rajapaksa government was a tough negotiator keen to garner
a better deal for the country. However,
industry sources said Emirates opted out due to total lack of confidence
and faith in the government’s modus operandi of late. The
uncertainty has resulted in a mass exodus from SriLankan with pilots
and engineers seeking greener pastures at other airlines that are
grabbing them up. According
to informed sources at the airline, SriLankan’s management
walks through the offices each morning, since the Peter Hill-Emirates-GOSL
crisis started late last year, requesting staff to rethink their
decisions to quit the airline, assuring them that SriLankan has
seen worse times and lived to tell the tale. Meanwhile,
authoritative sources also confirmed that the government now appeared
to be in a flurry, after Emirates President Tim Clark officially
announced that the Dubai-based carrier would opt out of extending
the shareholder agreement with the government, once it expires in
March. Several high ranking Government officials held crisis talks
with SriLankan Chairman of the Board, Harry Jayawardane and the
entire Board of Directors had been requested to be on standby for
an emergency meeting to discuss the future of the airline. Meanwhile,
the SriLankan Board meeting that was initially scheduled for January
8 has been postponed to January 28. Emirates Board members Gary
Chapman and Nigel Hopkins will attend the meeting, sources said.
However,
the Government appointed Directors are slated to meet on Saturday. Clark,
in an interview with AFP in Dubai, said that Emirates would be willing
to sell its 43.6% stake in SriLankan to a willing buyer at the price
of some US$ 150 million. However, Clark said that Emirates would
hold on to its share and its managerial rights until March 31. SriLankan
sources said that the Dubai airline was playing it safe till the
agreement expired, because if it were to attempt to sell shares
prior to the expiration date, the first right of refusal lay with
the Government of Sri Lanka. Analysts
said that no serious investor would buy the stake, unless it has
the right to manage the national carrier. Some airlines are also
wary, following the embarrassment faced by globally recognized and
proven Emirates. However,
official sources said that the Government was confident of taking
SriLankan to greater heights despite Emirates’ pullout. The Bottom Line also learns that SriLankan Airlines unions have written to the Ministry of Aviation, demanding that if the government was going to take over management of the airline in March 2008, the staff needs to see a business plan from the Government, before that date.
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