Khazanah arm acquires stake in John Keells Hldgs

Khazanah Nasional Bhd, via its special purpose vehicle, Broga Hill Investments Ltd, today acquired an 8.85 per cent stake in John Keells Holdings Plc (JKH), Sri Lanka's largest listed conglomerate, in a deal worth RM366 million.

The JKH group has business interests in several key sectors of the Sri
Lankan economy including tourism, transportation, leisure & tourism, property, retail and financial services, said Khazanah in a statement.

Khazanah Managing Director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said:"The entry into
JKH offers Khazanah and its group of companies opportunities to participate
across a wide range of businesses where the JKH group is involved in.


"At the same time, it allows Khazanah to participate in Sri Lanka's positive
growth story and is in line with our strategy of investing in the region."

Sri Lanka is already a positive experience for Khazanah's investee
companies.

Axiata subsidiary, Dialog, is the largest mobile telephony player in Sri
Lanka while the CIMB Group has established an investment banking joint venture in the country.

Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a strong economic revival post-conflict
as evident by the recent economic growth of about 8 per cent per annum. -- Bernama