To raise Rs. 400 million:

Pelwatta Dairy goes for IPO

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The Pelwatta Dairy Industries will declare its first Initial Public Offer (IPO) for Rs.400 million, which is to the value of 20 percent of the company. This will take place shortly after the General Elections in April this year. Pelwatta Dairy Industries Chairman Ariyaseela Wickramanayake told Daily News Business that the company wants to make its customers shareholders as much as possible and it will give any small number of shares to them at Re 1 per share to achieve this objective.

“I want the consumers of Pelwatta Dairy Products to be the owners of the company,” he said.

“The country should not import rice, sugar, milk and fish as it can produce them locally while increasing employment opportunities of the people. I have proved this with the shipping industry already and now I am going to show the same with sugar and dairy industries. I hope the other blue chip companies will follow suit,” he said.

Wickramanayake firmly believes that Sri Lanka can be self-sufficient in milk production with available resources within the next 2-3 years.

Talking about the company’s new milk processing plant he said, that the plant imported from Denmark has the latest and most modern equipment in the world.

Installation of machinery has been completed and testing is now in progress. This plant will help the country to save a large amount of foreign exchange now spent on imported milk food. The company will produce 100 percent local milk with 100 percent local knowledge and experience, he said.

The plant will provide a full range of milk products such as liquid milk, yoghurt and cheese. this will help 20,000 dairy farmer families in Moneragala, Hambantota, Ampara and Udawatta to sell their produce of fresh milk at Government approved prices which is Rs 40 per litre presently. Pelwatta Dairy has 2,000 cows grazing in the premises, Wickramanayake said.

Pelwatta Dairy Industries receives the third highest income from the dairy sector and with the commissioning of the milk processing plant the company will be able to increase its income, he said.

Pelwatta Dairy was launched in 2006 under the 300 Factory Project of the Government to set up an animal feed manufacturing plant to produce high nutritious feed.