Dialog Axiata Group to invest US$ 152.4mn in Sri Lanka

From left: Renuka M. Weerakone, Director General, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Joint Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, CEO – Telecommunications Business/Group Executive Vice President, Axiata Group Berhad, Tan Sri Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, Chairman, Independent Non-Executive Director of Axiata Group Berhad, Raja Edirisuriya, Chairman, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka,   Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive/Director, Dialog Axiata PLC and Viranthi Attygalle, Group Company Secretary, Dialog Axiata PLC

Dialog Axiata Group, the largest Foreign Direct Investor (FDI) operating under the aegis of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), announced the entering into of two supplementary agreements with the BOI for the investment of an additional sum of US$ 152.4 million (Rs. 56.7 billion) in Sri Lanka’s telecommunications and ICT Infrastructure on September 13.

The investment comprises of US$ 112.8 million from Dialog Axiata PLC and US$ 39.6 million from its subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks (Private) Limited. 

These agreements span a broad scope of telecommunications and ICT infrastructure development by the Dialog Axiata Group, encompassing the expansions of mobile and fixed 4G-LTE networks to provide rural and deep-indoor coverage, enhancement of big-data analytics and customer interaction capabilities, the evolution of IP and fibre networks, and the further development of the Group’s Wi-Fi and broadband networks. 

It is envisaged that these developments will offer more reliable and cost-effective internet connectivity, and significantly contribute to propelling the nation’s mobile telephony and fixed infrastructure to the forefront of innovation accelerating Sri Lanka into a digital nation. 

The respective supplementary agreements between Dialog Axiata PLC and Dialog Broadband Networks (Private) Limited and the BOI were signed by Raja Edirisuriya, Chairman, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive/Director, Dialog Axiata PLC and Viranthi Attygalle, Group Company Secretary, Dialog Axiata PLC, in the presence of Tan Sri Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, Chairman, Independent Non-Executive Director of Axiata Group Berhad, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Joint Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, CEO – Telecommunications Business/Group Executive Vice President, Axiata Group Berhad, and Renuka M. Weerakone, Director General, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.

Dialog Axiata Group is a subsidiary group of companies of Axiata Group Berhad, Asia’s second largest Telco with operations spanning across 8 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and India, and Axiata has been a committed and long-term investor in Sri Lanka since the inception of Dialog.

Dialog is Sri Lanka’s largest Foreign Direct Investor (FDI) with cumulative investments totalling US$ 3.1 billion. In this regard, it has been recognized by BOI as the first company to invest US$ 1billion in the country.

“Dialog Axiata has been instrumental in progressing our nation towards becoming a formidable next-generation digital infrastructure champion in a global setting. As the largest foreign investor in the country, Axiata has been a consistent and key enabler of this journey, even amid uncertainties,” said Raja Edirisuriya, Chairman, BOI. 

Commenting, Tan Sri Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, Chairman, Independent Non-Executive Director of Axiata Group Berhad said, “As the largest FDI in Sri Lanka, this latest investment agreement bears testimony to Axiata’s continued confidence in the nation and our commitment to Sri Lanka and its people. We consider Sri Lanka to be one of the key innovation hubs, where Dialog has achieved many region firsts, staying true to its ethos of delivering ‘The Future. Today.’