Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited
Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited was registered as a private company in 1970 and is the publisher of the popular Tamil language newspaper, Virakesari. The company currently maintains several Tamil language publications and websites. Its two English language publications, Daily Express and Weekly Express, as well as the Tamil language paper Tamil Times, are published overseas. The company also owns 59.99 percent of shares in Asian Media Publications (Pvt) Limited, the publisher of two Tamil newspapers, Thinakkural and Uthayasooriyan.
Business Form
Private
Legal Form
Private Limited Liability Company
Business Sectors
Printing and Publishing
Individual Owner
Other Print Outlets
Metro (Daily) (0.42%)
Metro (Weekly) (Missing Data)
Vidivelli (Weekly) (0.31%)
Vidivelli (Daily) (0.28%)
Daily Express (Missing Data)
Weekend Express (Missing Data)
Sooriyakanthi (Missing Data)
Siyadesa (Missing Data)
Financial Digest (Missing Data)
Nanayam (Missing Data)
Maalai Express (Missing Data)
Tamil Times (Missing Data)
Mithiran (Missing Data)
Kalaikesari (0.16%)
Genius (Missing Data)
Suhavazhvu (Missing Data)
Sothidakesari (Missing Data)
Chutti Kesari (Missing Data)
Azhagi (0.10%)
Other Online Outlets
Media Business
Publishing
Asian Media Publications (59.99%)
General Information
Founding Year
1930
Affiliated Interests Founder
P.P.R. Subramanian Chettiar was an entrepreneur and journalist from the village of Avanipatti in Tamil Nadu, India. Upon immigrating from India to the then British Ceylon, he saw the conditions of the Indian workers and decided to establish a newspaper to promote justice and equality for them. Hence, in 1930 Subramanian established Virakesari and concurrently served as its Editor-in-Chief. In addition, Subramanian established Rubber plantations in Malaysia and invested in real estate in Singapore.
Employees
Missing Data
Contact
Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited
No. 185, Grandpass Road, Colombo 14
Tel: +94117322700, +94117322777
Website: http://encl.lk/
Tax/ ID Number
PV3125
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
5.44 Mio. $ / 830 Mio. LKR
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
Missing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Management
Executive Board
Sivakumar Nadesan – also referred to as Kumar Nadesan. He is the Managing Director of Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited. He is also a direct shareholder at the company. In addition, he owns a lesser percentage of shares at Asian Media Publications (Pvt) Limited (through Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited) which publishes the Thinakkural and Uthayasooriyan newspapers. He is the current Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI).
Krishnamoorthi Ratman Ravindran – Also referred to as K.R. Ravindran. He has served over forty years in the printing and packaging industry. Ravindran also serves as a Director at Veyron Media Services (Pvt) Limited. He owns 15.22 percent of individual shares in Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited and 3.29 percent of joint shares with Krishnamoorthy Manoharan.
Hariharan Selvanathan – is the Chairperson of Bukit Darah PLC, Carson Cumberbatch PLC, Carsons Management Services (Pvt) Limited, Shalimar Developments Sdn. Bhd., PT Agro Bukit and Agro Harapan Lestari (Pvt) Limited. In addition, he serves as the Deputy Chairperson of Goodhope Asia Holdings Limited and Lion Brewery Ceylon PLC. He holds the post of Director in several subsidiary companies within the Carsons Group, along with Sri Krishna Corporation (Pvt) Limited. Hariharan has previously served as the President of the National Chamber of Commerce, Vice Chairperson of the International Chamber of Commerce and Chairperson of Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited. He and his brother Manoharan Selvanathan own a significant percent of Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited.
Kaliappapillai Soundarajan – owns direct shares at Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited. He also serves as a Director at KMK Holdings Limited and K.M. Kalai Appapillai and Company Limited.
Simon Rajaseelan Gnanam – is a member of the Gnanam family, which collectively owns 16.69 percent of shares at Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited.
Manoharan Selvanathan – Alternate Director to H. Selvanathan and his brother. Manoharan and his brother Hariharan own a significant percentage of Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited.
Krishnamoorthi Rajabather Ravindran – Alternate Director to Krishnamoorthi Ratman Ravindran.
Harihan Selvanathan – Alternate Director to Sivakumar Nadesan.
Saravan Soundarajan – Alternate Director to Kaliappapillai Soundarajan and a Director at Asian Media Publications (Pvt) Limited.
Further Information
Meta Data
The official websites of Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited provides limited information on the founder. However, all the printed publications and online outlets were listed on the official website. Meanwhile, information on the board of directors or the company's organisational structure were unavailable on the official website. As such, secondary sources as well as the response provided by the company were used as references during the research process. Information on the shareholders and the board of directors was gathered through the annual returns available at the Department of Registrar of Companies. While the Media Ownership Monitor research team reached out to Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited by formally requesting for the company’s information on 20 July 2018, the company responded to the aforementioned request on 20 August 2018. The Central Bank’s average exchange rate for 2017 (152.45) was used to convert the amounts into USD. Readership data was obtained from the Kantar Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) for the year 2017.
