Gas Wrap

Oct 12, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's government is expecting to wrap up the purchase of Shell's gas unit in the island within a month, Sirisena Amarasekera, who heads the state committee in charge of the deal said.



Sri Lanka's information minister Keheliya Rambukwella has said the government was planning to sell down a 49 percent stake to the public and list the gas firm in the Colombo Stock Exchange.

The government is paying 63 million US dollars for a 51 percent stake in Shell Gas Lanka in which it already owns 49 percent and for a 100 percent stake in a storage terminal company.

The government originally sold the then Colombo Gas Company to Shell as part of a privatization exercise.

An earlier government statement said the firm had a capital of 37.

9 million US dollars and 65 million US dollars had been invested in the terminal company.



Another 24 million US dollars had been invested in building other infrastructure.