Upali Newspapers (Pvt) Limited
Founded by Upali Wijewardene in 1978, Upali Newspapers (Pvt) Limited is a publishing house which produces the English language newspaper, The Island, and the Sinhala language newspaper, Divaina. Although the company was incorporated in 1978, publications of the Divaina Irida Sangrahaya and the Sunday Island commenced in October, 1981. The daily editions of these papers launched in the following year. In 1983, Upali Wijewardene was legally declared deceased when his private jet disappeared on a home-bound flight from Malaysia, shortly after take-off. After Upali passed away in 1983, the ownership of the company was transferred to his wife Lakmani Ratwatte Welgama. The company is just one among many other businesses Upali Wijewardene is known to have established.
Mother Company
Upali Investment Holdings Limited
Business Form
Private
Legal Form
Private Limited Liability Company
Business Sectors
Publishing; Aviation; Travel; Food and Beverages; Automobiles
Individual Owner
Other
While the Welgama family owns 94 percent of shares at Upali Newspapers (Pvt) Limited, through Upali Investment Holdings Limited 102 other minority shareholders own 6 percent of Upali Newspapers (Pvt) Limited.
Other Print Outlets
The Island (0.13%)
Sunday Island (0.57%)
Rejina (0.25%)
Vidusara (0.90%)
Nawaliya (0.27%)
Other Online Outlets
Business
Consumer Products
Upali Consumer Products (100%)
Motor Trading
Upali Motor Company (100%)
Upali Trading Company (100%)
Travels
Upali Travels (4%)
Confectionary
Ceylon Chocolates (85%)
Corporate Services
Upali Management Services (100%)
Aviation
Upali Aviation Services (100%)
Air Conditioning Services
Upali Airconditioning Services (100%)
Finances
Upali Investments (100%)
Food and Beverages
Upali Food and beverages (69%)
Publishing
Upali Publishers (100%)
Services
Upali Enterprises (79%)
Agriculture
Upali Nurseries (23%)
General Information
Founding Year
1978
Affiliated Interests Founder
Upali Wijewardene founded Upali Newspapers (Pvt) Limited in 1978. In 1981, the company launched the Sunday editions of the Divaina and The Island. Upali’s family has a long history of being closely affiliated with the print media in the country. For instance, Upali’s cousin Ranjit Wijewardene founded Wijeya Newspapers Limited and serves as the current Chairperson. In 1983, Upali Wijewardene was legally declared deceased when his private jet disappeared on a home-bound flight from Malaysia, shortly after take-off.
Employees
Missing Data
Contact
Divaina Newspapers
No. 223, Bloemendhal Road, Colombo 13
Email: divaina@unl.upali.lk
Tel: +94 11 249 9750, +94 11 234 5243
Website: divaina.com/daily/
Tax/ ID Number
PV8654
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
Missing Data
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
Missing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Management
Executive Board
Lakmani Ratwatte – Majority Shareholder. She is the daughter of the late Dr. Seevali Ratwatte, who served as the Chairperson of the Upali Group of newspapers.
Nimal Weerasiri Welgama – Shareholder, Managing Director at Upali Newspapers and husband of Lakmani Rawatte. His brother Kumara Welgama is a Member of Parliament.
Anula Attygala – Board Member.
Sudhammika Kemida Attygala – Assistant Brand Manager at Hemas Holdings PLC.
Julius Asoka Duke Lanarolle – Board Member.
Lahiru Gunasekere – Board Member.
Dehiwalage Anthony Lakshman Perera – Board Member.
Further Information
Headlines
Meta Data
The details on shares were obtained from the Department of Registrar of Companies. Subsidiary and affiliated companies, along with Upali Investment Holdings Limited’s proportion of ownership, was filed with the Department of Registrar of Companies. However, it was not clear as to what industry some of these companies spanned over since Upali Investment Holdings Limited, and most subsidiary companies, do not have websites. Readership data was obtained from the Kantar Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) for the year 2017.
