Selvanathan Family

The Selvanathan family (brothers Hariharan Selvanathan and Manoharan Selvanathan) own shares at Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited through several companies that are listed as direct shareholding companies. The five companies that are listed as shareholders of Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited are: Ceylon Finance and Securities Limited, Fulcrum Limited, Tower Investments (Pvt) Limited, Natwest Nominees (Pvt) Limited and Wardley Investments (Pvt) Limited.

Hariharan Selvanathan and Manoharan Selvanathan jointly own and manage Carson Cumberbatch PLC. According to Forbes Asia, Hariharan and Manoharan are listed among the four wealthiest individuals in Sri Lanka. Hariharan Selvanathan is the Chairperson of Bukit Darah PLC, Carson Cumberbatch PLC, Carsons Management Services (Pvt) Limited and Agro Harapan Lestari (Pvt) Limited. In addition, he serves as the Deputy Chairperson of Goodhope Asia Holdings Limited. He also holds Directorships in several subsidiary companies within the Carsons Group and serves as a Director of Sri Krishna Corporation (Pvt) Limited and Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited. Hariharan Selvanathan has also served as a Past President of the National Chamber of Commerce and Past Vice Chairperson of the International Chamber of Commerce.

Manoharan Selvanathan is the Chairperson of Sri Krishna Corporation (Pvt) Limited, Ceylon Finance and Securities Limited and Selinsing PLC. He is also a Group Director at many companies in the Carson Cumberbatch Group in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and is an active Member of its Executive Management Forums. He is also the Deputy Chairperson of Ceybank Asset Management Ltd. Previously, Manoharan has served as the Chairperson of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and The Indo Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Additionally, he served as the President of the Rotary Club of Colombo North. At present, he is the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Chile in Sri Lanka.

In recognition of the services rendered to Sri Lanka, Manoharan was awarded the title "Deshamanya" in 2005 by the Government of Sri Lanka. In 2011, he was awarded the "Pravasi Bharatiya Samma Award" by the President of India for fostering the Indian Sri Lankan relations. In addition, the Government of Chile in the year 2013 conferred the Presidential Honour of “Order of Knight Commander” on him.

In relation to the companies through which Hariharan and Manoharan own shares at Express Newspapers (Ceylon) (Pvt) Limited, Fulcrum Limited emerges as one such company. Formerly known as The Jake Organisation (Pvt), Fulcrum Limited was bought by Manoharan Selvanathan and Hariharan Selvanathan in 1988. Currently, Fulcrum Limited is owned by Goodhope Holdings Limited, Skan Investments (Pvt) Limited, Woodward Pte. Limited, Goodhope Pte. Limited and Hariharan Selvanathan. In addition, Hariharan Selvanathan, his daughter Shrada Selvanathan, his son Satish Selvanathan and Hariharan’s brother Manoharan Selvanathan, serve as Directors of the company.

Natwest Nominees (Pvt) Limited is owned by the Selvanathan family and Sashilekah Ramiah Nataraj. Manoharan Selvanathan, Hariharan Selvanathan, and Kanapathy Selvanathan have direct shares in the company. Sashilekah Ramiah Nataraj has a combined share with the two Selvanathan brothers. She is married to Ramiah Nataraj. According to the Carson Cumberbatch PLC Annual Report for 2016/2017, both Sashilekah and Ramiah are shareholders of the company.

Similar to Natwest Nominees (Pvt) Limited, Wardley Investments (Pvt) Limited started as a company with the Selvanathan’s owning the majority of shares. However, Sashilekah Ramiah Nataraj and her son Vikram Nataraj currently own all shares in the company.

In addition to these companies, Ceylon Finance and Securities Limited and Tower Investments (Pvt) Limited also hold shares at Carson Cumberbatch PLC, where Hariharan and Manoharan serve as the majority shareholders.