By Skandha Gunasekara Controversy continues to surround the divestiture of shares of Hilton Colombo and Grand Hyatt Colombo with speculation hitting the country's stock market that the Hyatt franchise is considering pulling out of the Grand Hyatt project, market sources informed The Sunday Morning. According to sources, as a result of the project not moving forward for the past several years, the Hyatt franchise is contemplating pulling out completely from the project. A pullout by the franchise could result in discouraging potential investors to the project. Sources also said that due to the downward trend in the markets, no financial consultant would advise the listing of a company in the stock market at this point in time. The Government last week published an advertisement in the media calling for Expressions of Interest (EOI) in investing in both the Grand Hyatt Colombo and the Hilton Colombo. However, confusion prevails regarding the Government divestiture plans. Secretary to the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs K.D.S. Ruwanchandra told The Sunday Morning that it has been proposed to make Requests for Proposal to the parties who show interest in investing in the project. Thereafter, the Government expects to list it on the stock market and limit the bidding to those who have shown Expressions of Interest as a result of the advertisement. The confusion lies here as The Sunday Morning revealed earlier – the Chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission Ranel Wijesinghe categorically asserted that it was not legally possible to limit bidding on the Colombo Stock Exchange. Nevertheless, despite pointing this out, Ruwanchandra said the Government would go ahead with the proposal to list it on the stock market and limit the bidders. “We will look into the matter of limited bidding in the stock market,” he added. The Grand Hyatt project has been stuck in limbo for close to a decade, incurring heavy losses to the State.