Dialog rings a further investment of $ 175 m

• Signs deal with BOI for Rs. 24.6 billion investment bringing Dialog’s cumulative figure 
• to $ 1.96 b

Dialog Axiata Chairman Azzat Kamaludin (right) shakes hand with BOI Chairman Upul Jayasuriya whilst exchanging the agreement signed yesterday. Others from left are Dialog Axiata Director Moksevi Prelis, Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Ministry Secretary Wasantha Deshapriya, Axiata Group Managing Director/President and Group Chief Executive Officer Jamaludin Ibrahim and Dialog Axiata Director/Group Chief Executive Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya

Dialog Axiata PLC, the largest foreign direct investor operating under the aegis of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, yesterday announced the entering into of agreements with the BOI for the investment of an additional sum of $ 175 m (Rs. 24.6 billion) in Sri Lanka’s ICT infrastructure.

The investment agreements span a broad scope of ICT infrastructure development by the Dialog Axiata Group encompassing the expansion of 3rd Generation and 4th Generation high speed broadband services alongside further development of the Group’s fibre optic transmission network, international telecommunications network, and digital satellite television infrastructure. The Dialog Group will also direct targeted investments towards the expansion of its digital services portfolio spanning ventures and initiatives in digital payment, commerce, education and health.

Dialog Axiata PLC is a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad, Asia’s second largest telco with operations in eight countries spanning Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and India. The Axiata Group (formerly known as Telekom Malaysia International) has been a committed and long-term investor in Sri Lanka since 1994.

Speaking soon after the inking of the investment agreements, Dato Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, President and CEO of Axiata Group, stated: “The Axiata Group is proud and privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside the Government of Sri Lanka in developing the country’s Connectivity Sector to one of the best in the region. Axiata is a long-term partner of Sri Lanka and as evidenced by the investment agreements entered into today, we have singular confidence in the Government of Sri Lanka and its vision for the forward development of the country’s ICT sector and economy through the prioritisation of inclusive connectivity and digital infrastructure.” 

The additional investment pledged through the agreements entered in to with the BOI will take the total investment of Dialog Axiata to $ 1.96 billion (Rs. 206 billion), the highest among all Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) operating under the aegis of the BOI. In 2011, Dialog and the Axiata Group secured the distinction of being the first FDI to reach a cumulative investment in excess of $ 1 billion. 

“The commitment by the Axiata Group and Dialog, to enter into a new phase of its development journey with an investment of $ 175 m demonstrates the confidence placed by this leading multinational telecommunications Provider in the growth prospects of Sri Lanka’s economy and the Investment environment fostered by the Board of Sri Lanka and adjacent agencies of the Government of Sri Lanka. The BOI is confident that this next phase of investment embarked upon by Dialog will greatly support the thrust of the Government of Sri Lanka in enabling a digitally-empowered society,” said Upul Jayasuriya, Chairman and Director General of the 

“We are most welcoming of this renewed investment thrust by the largest Investor operating under the BOI. A repeat investment by an existing investor is a singular endorsement of the excellent investment environment in Sri Lanka,” he added.

In addition to leading in the sphere of FDI, the operations of Dialog Axiata Group contribute significantly to the national economy, with the taxes and levies remitted in 2014 alone, totalling to Rs. 11.1 billion, alongside an additional Rs. 13.3 billion in consumption taxes collected on behalf of the Government.

“We wish to thank the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, as well as the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Media, and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for providing us with an exceptionally progressive enabling environment which has facilitated us in delivering an inclusive portfolio of advanced ICT services, which have in turn contributed to the socio-economic advancement of a wide spectrum of citizens, and communities,” said Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Director/Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC.

“As espoused in our investment pledge, we will continue our thrust in supporting the vision of the Government of Sri Lanka in accelerating the advancement of Sri Lanka’s digital economy through the delivery of affordable and plural available services of the highest quality,” he added.