Aitken Spence PLC is a blue chip conglomerate

Conglomerate (company)

A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...

 operating out of Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

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History

Aitken Spence was formed in 1868 as Clark Spence and Co. It was appointed as an agent for Lloyds of London in 1876. Aitken Spence was established as a limited liability company in 1948. In 1968 it became wholly Sri Lankan owned and in 1983 it was listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange

Colombo Stock Exchange

The Colombo Stock Exchange is the main stock exchange in Sri Lanka. It is one of the most modern exchanges in South Asia, providing a fully automated trading platform...

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Sectors

Aitken Spence operates in industries including power generation, garment manufacturing, inland container operations, integrated warehousing, shipping, freight forwarding and tourism. It is currently the sole bidder for Colombo Port's new container terminal (in a joint venture with China Merchants Holdings (International)).

Expansion

Aitken Spence expanded into Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Oman

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

 in early 2008, after violence in its home country of Sri Lanka escalated and severely impacted the hotel industry there. As early as 2006, the conglomerate had been securing business deals in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

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