Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited
Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited (ABC) was established in Sri Lanka in the 1990s by the UK-based Sunrise Radio Group. It is presently listed as a subsidiary under Rayynor Silva Holdings (Pvt) Limited, which is owned by Rayynor Silva. Five radio stations are under the purview of ABC: Hiru FM, Shaa FM, Gold FM, Sun FM and Sooriyan FM. ABC also oversees an HD ready/ digital ready TV channel, Hiru TV.
In 2007, the Sri Lankan government suspended ABC’s radio broadcasting licenses on two objections: firstly, that although ABC’s licenses were issues on 17 November 1995, the company had only been incorporated on November 27; secondly, that ABC had broadcasted an erroneous report during the country’s armed conflict. Despite ABC having issued an apology and attempting to rectify the erroneous report, the government proceeded with the suspension on the grounds that it was reportedly a “gross violation of the freedom of expression”. Moreover, the Supreme Court dismissed ABC’s fundamental rights petition and ordered Chairperson Rayynor Silva to pay a Rs. 250,000 (2,259.99 USD) cash bail for submitting a false affidavit to the Supreme Court which had reportedly suppressed the initial erroneous news content ABC had broadcasted. Several media-related groups such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Free Media Movement (FMM) however widely condemned the suspension.
Mother Company
Rayynor Silva Holdings (Pvt) Limited
Business Form
Private
Legal Form
Private Limited Company
Business Sectors
Radio and Television Broadcasting
Individual Owner
Other Radio Outlets
Sun FM (0.32%)
Other Online Outlets
Business
Real estate
Skyline Pacific Real Estate (Pvt) Limited
Fashion
White Lotus Fashions (Pvt) Limited
Other
Mediacorp Investments (Pvt) Limited
General Information
Founding Year
1995
Affiliated Interests Founder
Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited was initially founded by the Sunrise Radio Group in the 1990s. It was later owned by Rayynor Silva, who is a well-known businessman in the broadcasting field of Sri Lanka and the present Chairperson of the company. The company remains one of the largest radio networks in the country. Rayynor’s brother Vincent Silva serves as the current CEO of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited. Meanwhile, former Member of Parliament Duminda Silva is also Rayynor Silva’s brother. On 11 October 2018 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by Duminda Silva for the murder of former Member of Parliament, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra.
Employees
Missing Data
Contact
Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited
35th Floor, East Tower, World Trade Center, Colombo 1
Tel: +94 11 2 337 555
Fax: (+94) 112 346 870
E-mail: md@asiabroadcasting.lk
Website: www.asiabroadcasting.lk
Tax/ ID Number
PV16452
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
Missing Data
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
Missing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Management
Executive Board
Samantha Rayynor Silva – Owner of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited.
Vincent Premalal Silva – Board Member and Director. He owns a minor percentage of shares in Mediacorp Investments (Pvt) Limited.
Vincent Prabodha Silva – Board Member and Director. He is also a Director at Mediacorp Investments (Pvt) Limited.
Maleeka Chamari Silva Sirisenege – Board Member and Director.
Other Influential People
Prasad Karunarathne is the General Manager of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited.
Further Information
Meta Data
Information on Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited (ABC) was obtained through the official website of the company as well as secondary sources. Information on the Chairperson Rayynor Silva was also available on the official website of Rayynor Silva Holdings (Pvt) Limited. Details about the ownership structure and board of directors was gathered through the annual returns available at the Department of Registrar of Companies. The designations of the key individuals at Sooriyan FM were confirmed upon contacting the station directly and also speaking with the Director of Programming. While the Media Ownership Monitor research team reached out to Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited by formally requesting for the company’s information on 20 July 2018, the company did not respond to the aforementioned request. The Central Bank’s average exchange rate for 2007 (110.62) was used to convert the amounts into USD. Viewership data was obtained from the Kantar Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) for the year 2017, while listenership data was gathered for the period of January- November 2017.
