Dialog Inks USD 150 Million Investment Agreement with BOI

Largest Investor Set to Top USD 1.5 Billion Cumulative FDI to Sri Lanka

Dialog Axiata PLC (Dialog), Sri Lanka’s Mobile Telecommunications market leader and Premier Quad-Play connectivity provider announced Monday July 29th that it had entered in to infrastructure investment agreements totalling to 150 Million USD with the Board of Investment (BoI).

The Investment agreements will encompass the expansion of the multi-faceted ICT infrastructures of the Dialog Group including but not limited to 4G and 3G High Speed Broadband, Fibre Optic, Fixed Telecommunication and International telecommunication networks. The agreements were entered in to by Dialog Axiata PLC and its wholly owned subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN) and will span a project implementation period of 03 years.

In 2011, Dialog was recognised by the BoI to be the first investor operating under its aegis to deliver a cumulative investment in excess of USD 1 Billion to Sri Lanka. The BoI has also recognised Dialog and its principal shareholder Axiata Group Bhd as the single largest Foreign Direct Investor (FDI) in Sri Lanka. Since bridging the 1 Billion Dollar investment milestone in 2011, Dialog’s investment in Sri Lanka has expanded to USD 1.35 Bn., and is set to exceed the USD 1.5 Bn mark upon the completion of the infrastructure development projects encompassed in the agreements recently entered in to.

“Being Sri Lanka’s largest foreign direct investor with a total FDI exceeding USD 1.5 billion during the last 2 decades is a tribute to the trust and confidence the Axiata and Dialog have in the Sri Lankan economy,” said Hon. Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena MP, Cabinet Minister of Investment Promotions speaking at the signing ceremony graced by Hon. Faizer Mustapha, Deputy Minister /Investment Promotion, Mr. M. M. C. Ferdinando, Secretary / Ministry of Investment Promotion, Mr. Kapila Jayasekara, Additional Secretary/ Ministry of Investment Promotion, Dr. Lakshman Jayaweera, Chairman/Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Mr. Anusha Palpita, Director General, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and other key officials of the BOI. Expanding on the views of the Hon Minister, Dr. Lakshman Jayaweera, Chairman/Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka said “Investments such as made by the Dialog Group have placed the Sri Lankan telecommunications sector at the forefront in the Asian region and the government of Sri Lanka is confident that advancements in the ICT sector will significantly support the accelerated development of multiple sectors of the Sri Lankan economy over the next years “.

“The continued and consistent investment record of the Dialog Group bears testimony to the confidence the company and our principal shareholder Axiata Group, has in the Government of Sri Lanka, its investment facilitation agencies and the Sri Lankan Economy and domestic market” Said Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya Director/Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC. “Progressive telecommunications sector regulation, an enabling investment environment and the relentless support of our customers and employees has underpinned the multiple waves of FDI delivered by the Dialog Group – now totalling to excess of 1.5 Bn US Dollars” he added.

Dialog Axiata PLC, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata) and is one of the largest companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization. Dialog has been at the forefront of innovation in Sri Lanka’s mobile since the late 90’s, propelling the nation’s mobile telephony infrastructure to a level of advancement on par with the developed world. The company delivers advanced mobile telephony and high speed mobile broadband services to a subscriber base in excess of 8 Million Sri Lankans, via 2.5G and 3G/3.5G and 4G networks. In April 2013, the company secured the distinction of becoming the first service provider in South Asia to launch mobile 4G FD-LTE services. During the latter part of 2012, the company’s wholly owned subsidiary DBN has the distinction of being the first telecommunications operator in Sri Lanka to launch 4th Generation TD-LTE Fixed and Nomadic Broadband Services. DBN is also a leading provider of Radio and Optical Fibre based transmission infrastructure facilities

Dialog Axiata PLC supplements its market leading position Sri Lanka’s mobile telecommunications sector with a robust presence and nationwide footprint in the fixed telecommunications and broadband sector and a market leading position in digital pay television. Dialog Television (DTV) a wholly owned subsidiary of Dialog Axiata PLC operates a Direct-to-Home (DTH) Digital Satellite TV service and supports a broad array of international and local content in both Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) formats alongside a wide portfolio of Sri Lankan television channels and delivers high quality infotainment to a viewer base in excess of 275,000 Sri Lankan Households.

Dialog is an ISO 9001 certified company and has received numerous local and international awards including the National Quality Award, Sri Lanka Business Excellence Award, and 3 successive GSM World Awards. At the SLIM-Nielsen People’s Choice Awards 2013, Dialog was voted by Sri Lankan consumers as the Telecom Service Provider of the Year in addition to being named the Internet Service Provider of the Year.