Friday Jul 24, 2026
Friday Jul 24, 2026
Friday, 24 July 2026 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) has exited its investment in unlisted Canwill Holdings Ltd., recovering its Rs. 5 billion capital after transferring its stake to the Government as part of a restructuring arrangement, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) officials said yesterday.
The investment no longer appears in the EPF’s portfolio following completion of the transaction by the end of last year, allowing the Fund to redeploy the recovered capital into other income-generating assets.
The EPF, managed by the CBSL, had not generated returns from its investment in Canwill Holdings, prompting the restructuring arrangement under which the Fund transferred its rights in the company to the Government.
CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe addressing a Monetary Policy Review press conference yesterday said that valuations of unlisted equity investments fluctuate over time as they are required to be assessed annually according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
“In that very shareholding, when doing a mark-to-market valuation, accordingly, a market valuation must be done from year to year in accordance with the IFRS. It changes based on that. So, over time, as its market valuation changes—similar to economic fluctuations—that valuation decreases,” Dr. Weerasinghe said.
An EPF Department official said the agreement was structured so that the Government would take over the asset, undertake restructuring, and return any additional proceeds realised from a future sale.
“In the restructuring process undertaken by the Government, based on the principle that the rights we held in Canwill Holdings would be transferred to the Government, then restructured, and if any additional amount was received after selling it, it would be returned to us,” the official said.
The official said the EPF had recovered its original investment of Rs. 5 billion and retained a claim on any future gains from the asset.
“Because our investment there was Rs. 5 billion. We took that Rs. 5 billion into the EPF and gave our share to the Government. Therefore, it is no longer in our portfolio now,” the official said. “Subsequently, we utilised those funds for other investments and are currently receiving a return from them.”
The EPF’s investment decisions have come under increased scrutiny amid concerns over returns generated for members and questions over the Fund’s management structure, given the CBSL’s dual role as manager of the EPF and issuer of Government securities.
The EPF is Sri Lanka’s largest retirement fund, holding the mandatory pension savings of private sector employees and operating under the administration of the CBSL.
