Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday, 9 December 2025 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Axiata Group Berhad Group CEO/Managing Director Vivek Sood
-Pic by Upul Abayasekara
By Charumini de Silva
Axiata Group Berhad Group CEO/Managing Director Vivek Sood said the Malaysian telecoms giant remains committed to Sri Lanka as a long-term strategic investment destination, despite challenges and market exits elsewhere in the region, citing the country’s digital ambitions, talent base and regulatory openness as decisive factors.
Speaking at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit last week, Sood said Axiata’s investment decisions are never driven solely by shareholder returns, but by a broader ‘return to stakeholders’, shaped by a country’s vision, regulatory stability, market structure, macroeconomic signals and the strength of local talent.
“Every business has to decide, where to put its capital. For us, the decision is always based on not just profit to shareholders. It’s the returns to the stakeholders. That starts with the vision of the Government, the regulatory environment, the macro situation, the opportunity and the level of talent,” he explained.
Sood noted that Axiata is a long-term strategic investor, insisting that telecom infrastructure is a 10–15-year investment horizon. “We are not fly-by investors coming to monetise and leave. Some markets we exited because the market structure wasn’t conducive or the Government’s future vision wasn’t very clear. In Sri Lanka, it’s different,” he said.
He identified several reasons the group continues to see Sri Lanka as a long-term play, beginning with the Government’s digital economy vision, including its stated commitment to attract $ 15 billion in investments by 2030. “Connectivity plays a very important role in enabling that digital economy. We believe we can add value not just to the Government’s vision, but to society in healthcare, financial services, education and more,” Sood said.
He also cited Sri Lanka’s market scale and structure, the population’s appetite for innovation, and what he described as a constructive regulatory culture. “There are challenges in every market,” he acknowledged. “But what we find attractive is the willingness to consult and have a dialogue. If you have that willingness to discuss and debate, you find solutions that are long-term and value-accretive.”
Axiata, which owns Dialog Axiata, has used Sri Lanka for decades as a test bed for new technologies, including early rollouts of 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G trials. Sood said the country’s talent and mindset were central to those decisions. “The desire of Sri Lankans to innovate and try out new things is an attractive proposition,” he added.
