Sri Lanka Repeals 100% Land Tax on Foreigners

The Sri Lankan government is scrapping the 100 percent tax levied on foreigners buying land in that country in favor of a new special land tax to be unveiled in the 2012 budget.

The new tax will remove restrictions on foreigners buying and developing land anywhere in the country, and will also close loopholes which have allowed many foreigners to buy land in Sri Lanka tax free. It is also thought that removing the tax will increase tourism and property sales to foreigners. The overall aim of the decision is to increase the revenues coming into government coffers from the sale of land to foreigners, sources from the Finance Ministry told reporters.

More>> 

(Source: The Epoch Times)

Sheraton to build hotel in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo

Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, the largest Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide brand, will build a hotel in the Sri Lankan capital on land originally offered to a Chinese firm, a government official said on Sunday.

The island nation's junior economic minister said the government has completed negotiations with Sheraton to allocate the land, earlier offered to China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).

Last month, Sri Lanka annulled a $500 million investment deal with CATIC after it refused to sell the beach front land outright to the state-run Chinese conglomerate as agreed earlier.


More>>

(Source: Daily Mirror)

Dispute with CATIC over Galle Face deal

The Chinese investor in a multifunctional complex near Galle Face Green has refused their advance payment (to the government) after the government‘s policy decision that land will not be sold outright to them.
CATIC or China Aviation Technology Import-Export Corporation has said that instead it would require land on outright purchase terms. It has said it did not favour a 99-year lease for the same property. 
Its demand comes amidst conflicting legal positions taken by the Chinese aircraft manufacturing firm and the government. CATIC has threatened to seek legal relief on the grounds that assurances of an outright sale of land were given to it. It also cites the case of Shangri-La Hotels, a project for which land encompassing the Army grounds has already been given.


More>>

(Source: Sunday Times)

Govt. plans land audit

The Government is planning a comprehensive audit of the country‘s public and privately-held land assets. The public sector property audit will be conducted under the first phase of this initiative. The Ministry of Lands and Land Development will present a paper indicating modalities of a full audit of state and private land covering a wide spectrum of issues including updating of land records; survey, demarcation and protection of lands; efficient use of land; encroachment of land, the extent and reasons thereof, effectiveness of encroachment and removal actions.


More>>


(Source: Sunday Times)

Colombo waterfront lands adjoining Beira Lake up on lease on instalment cum upfront payment

The government is offering prime Colombo land at a mix of an installment cum upfront payment basis for a 99 year lease deal, a top official said. Prime, urban waterfront land adjoining the Beira Lake at D. R. Wijewardena Mawatha, Colombo 10 will be made available for development transforming the area as a leisure and entertainment hub of Colombo.
With basic infrastructure already existing, the terms of allocation of the crown land are long-term or 99 year leases at market value. Nihal Fernando, Director-General, Urban Development Authority (UDA) said that a considerable percentage of the land value has to be paid at the time of assessing the land and the balance should be paid in continuous installments within a period fixed by the (UDA). “ The former UDA head office at D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha which has five acres will also be offered for local or foreign investors for development,” he told a representative audience at a knowledge sharing conference on the role of real property development in an emerging economy in Colombo on Thursday. "The Beira Lake would be dredged and the water would be cleaned along Vauxhall Street to ensure a clean environment," he said.

More>>

(Source: Sunday Times)

Govt accuses opposition of blocking Galle Face Land sale

With the Cabinet having approved the 99-year lease on seven acres of prime land near the Galle Face Green to the China National Aero-Technology and Export-Import Corporation (CATIC), the government valuer has been directed to work out the lease payments, Economic Development Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana said yesterday. 

He accused the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) of having compelled the government to change its earlier decision to sell the property outright at US$ 94.5 million or at nearly Rs.10 billion and thus having to forego the direct receipt of foreign exchange.

More>> 

(Source: Daily Mirror)

Asia Capital's leisure arm to add Wadduwa, Balapitiya beach hotels, 50 rooms

Asia Leisure's, plans to add two new beach properties, one in Wadduwa and the other in Balapitiya, over the next seven to eight months, which will add about 50 more rooms to the company's existing portfolio of hotels, which presently encompasses boutique hotel properties in Nuwara Eliya, Colombo, Balapitiya and Galle.

More>> 

(Source: Sunday Times)