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Hard liquor giant moving into soft liquor manufacture
Distilleries acquire Heineken’s SL business for over Rs. 4 bn.
Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC (DCSL) has concluded a major acquisition of the Sri Lanka operation of Heineken, a major player in the global beer industry at a consideration of Euro 12 million, (over Rs. 4.2 billion), DCSL announced last week in a stock exchange filing.
This will bring the Harry Jayawardena company, the lead player in the country’s alcohol industry, into competition with Lion Brewery PLC which dominates the beer brewing and marketing industry at present. In an earlier era, the Ceylon Brewery, now Ceylon Beverage Holdings PLC, led the beer market share with its Lion beer with Three Coins, manufactured by McCallum Brewery, trailing behind.
This brings a deal which was in the pipeline since mid-November last year, as disclosed by DCSL in a stock exchange filing, to finality. Fitch ratings said last November when news of the pending transaction broke that Lion could face more competition in the medium term once the deal was done.
“Heineken is a distant second in Sri Lanka’s beer market for now, but we believe DIST has the industry know-how, market access and financial strength to elevate Heineken’s operations to a level that could weigh on Lion’s market share,” Fitch said.
“We believe a large capacity expansion at Heineken Lanka would be required to compete effectively with Lion. We estimate the expansion will require significant capital outlay and at least two-to-three years to complete. We believe DIST has the financial strength to fund the expansion, with its annual free cash flow, excluding dividends, averaging LKR10 billion-12 billion. DIST, as the largest spirits manufacturer in the country, already has extensive market access covering all forms of retail channels, providing easy market penetration compared with a new entrant,” Fitch said.
“However, we expect DIST to face near-term challenges in terms of brand building given the complete ban on media advertising on alcoholic beverages by the government. Lion already has a very strong brand presence in the market compared with Heineken due to the greater mass-market appeal of its products, with cheaper pricing and customization to local preferences.”
Fitch expected the acquisition to be positive for DIST as it will help the company to strengthen its market position with a presence in both hard and soft liquor markets. The acquisition will also allow DIST to take advantage of the lower excise duties applicable to beer on an alcohol-equivalent basis.
There has been a shift to beer from hard liquor in recent months due to the significant increase in excise duties. DIST could also benefit from the revival in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, as beer is more popular among tourists than locally made hard liquor, the rating agency said.
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Sun directly overhead Kalpitiya, Talawa, Sinharagama, Galkadawala, Nachchaduwa, Padikaramaduwa, Gomarankalla and Verugal about 12.10 noon today (01)
The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.
The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (01) are Kalpitiya, Talawa, Sinharagama, Galkadawala,
Nachchaduwa, Padikaramaduwa, Gomarankalla and Verugal about 12.10 noon.
… stresses need for action if claims were proved false
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dayasiri Jayasekera has sought a clarification from Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne regarding several allegations against Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, in Parliament, recently.
In a letter dated 31 August, Jayasekera has asked the Speaker whether he received any documentary evidence from MPs in support of the allegations at issue. The SJB MP has also inquired about the steps taken by the Speaker regarding the allegations and whether the issue had been taken up with the relevant agencies authorised to probe the assets of the CJ and members of his family.
MP Jayasekera confirmed that he had raised the issue with the Speaker, following the accusations relating to the high profile X-Press Pearl case, which received significant public attention in the recent past.
The Kurunegala District MP has also asked the Speaker whether the latter contemplated taking action in case the allegations were proved false to ensure that the dignity of the Chief Justice and the judiciary was safeguarded.
Among the issues raised by MP Jayasekera are the acquisition of valuable property in Colombo by the CJ’s son, the circumstances in which he was able to procure the property, as well as accusations regarding the CJ’s birth certificate, marriage certificate and birth certificates of his children.
Navy Chief Vice Admiral Damian Fernando held a series of strategic-level discussions with senior Indian defence and military officials during a three-day official visit to New Delhi. He returned on Sunday (30).
Navy Headquarters said that the two sides discussed ways to further strengthen maritime security cooperation between the two Navies in support of security in the Indian Ocean region. They also exchanged views on expanding training opportunities and capacity-building programmes, as well as other areas of bilateral importance.
During his visit to New Delhi, Vice Admiral Fernando also held official discussions with India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General N.S. Raja Subramani, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit and defence industry representatives. Discussions at these meetings focused on bilateral defence cooperation, joint training programmes, and opportunities to enhance air and maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region.
As part of efforts to further expand cooperation in naval training and professional development, Vice Admiral Fernando also met Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of India’s Southern Naval Command, at its headquarters in Kochi, Kerala. The two sides discussed existing naval training exchange programmes and opportunities for introducing and expanding further training initiatives. The meeting followed the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy’s visit to INS Dronacharya, the Indian Navy’s training establishment where he previously completed the Long Gunnery and Missile Course.
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Sun directly overhead Kalpitiya, Talawa, Sinharagama, Galkadawala, Nachchaduwa, Padikaramaduwa, Gomarankalla and Verugal about 12.10 noon today (01)
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