By Madhusha Thavapalakumar The world renowned asset management company based in Australia, First State Investments, has sold approximately 11.4 million shares of Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB) yesterday (21), The Sunday Morning Business learns. Sold at approximately Rs. 105 - Rs. 106 per share, the total value of the HNB shares sold by the company on Thursday amounted to approximately Rs. 1.2 billion. HNB is one of the leading private banks in Sri Lanka and at the end of Thursday, the price of an HNB share was Rs. 106.40. The shares opened for trading at a value of Rs. 100 per share and the highest trading price within the day reached to Rs. 111 while the lowest was Rs. 105. The share price witnessed 9.8 per cent gain on Thursday as it was trading at Rs. 96.90 per share on Wednesday (20). First State Investments is a global asset management business focused on providing long-term investment capabilities to clients. The company is responsible for approximately $ 160.6 billion assets under management on behalf of clients that include institutional investors, pension funds, wholesale distributors and platforms, financial advisers and their clients.