Convenient Marriage

Sri Lanka's DFCC Bank is in talks with the Distilleries Group to sell off part of its stake in National Asset Management Ltd or NAMAL, a top official said Monday.







Sri Lanka's DFCC Bank is in talks with the Distilleries Group to sell off part of its stake in National Asset Management Ltd or NAMAL, a top official said Monday. DFCC currently holds 80 percent in NAMAL, and the balance is held by state-run pension fund the Employers Trust Fund.

"Talks are still at the discussion stage," DFCC Chief Executive Officer, Nihal Fonseka told LBO.

"We are looking for a strategic partner who will give us sufficient funds to manage. The Distilleries Group has that advantage because its quite diversified into so many sectors," he said.

For Distilleries, NAMAL is an ideal vehicle which can be used to invest funds generated through Sri Lanka Insurance.

"We are looking at buying the controlling stake of NAMAL, but talks are still ongoing," said Damien Fernando, Director of Distilleries Group.

NAMAL, which pioneered unit trusts in Sri Lanka, currently manages a two billion rupee portfolio.

The unit trust industry itself has not taken off with most funds