Newspaper changes hands?

(By S. Selvakumar)

The oldest and the highest selling Tamil daily Virakesari owned by the Express Newspapers Ltd. is all set to buy the second highest selling Tamil daily, the 14-year-old Thinakkural owned by leading food stuff importer from India S. P. Samy and the deal is said to have been finalised at Rs. 150 million.However it is learnt that Thinakkural will retain its name under Express Newspapers Ltd. management but will concentrate more on Northern affairs while Virakesari will be a newspaper of general interest to Tamil readers.
Well informed newspaper circles said that Samy, the owner of Thinakkural, who is also a leader in the business of import of food items from India while retaining the import business will divert his attention to mega health sector business interests in the North in collaboration with two other Tamil millionaire businessmen. He is already said to have concentrated in establishing state-of-the-art health institutions on par with leading hospitals functioning in Colombo. Knowledgeable circles said that Samy’s son and daughter-in-law being doctors may have influenced his decision to concentrate on the health sector.

Meanwhile none of the five districts in the North and for that matter even the Eastern province have any
hospitals of repute and patients who could afford, fly to the city for better healthcare. Meanwhile, well qualified doctors, especially specialists and surgeons are expected to be based in Samy’s healthcare institutions to be set up in the North.
Well informed sources pointed out that fears of another leading newspaper organization, owned by the pioneers in the trade, coming out with a new Tamil newspaper which is likely to start off as a weekly with subsequent plans to expand it to a daily, could be a reason for Samy’s decision to venture into the healthcare trade.