Dialog Axiata and BOI sign Rs. 24.6 bln investment agreement
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Picture from left: Moksevi Prelis – Director, Dialog Axiata PLC; Wasantha Deshapriya – Secretary, Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure; Dato' Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim – Managing Director/President & Group Chief Executive Officer, Axiata Group Berhad; Upul Jayasuriya – Chairman/ Director General, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka; Datuk Azzat kamaludin – Chairman, Dialog Axiata PLC and Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Director/Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC.
Dialog Axiata PLC, the largest foreign investor operating under the aegis of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), on Wednesday signed agreements with the BOI for an investment of an additional sum of US$175 million or 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, the company said on Wednesday.
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.
Speaking soon after inking the investment agreements, Dato Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim President and CEO of Axiata Group said, “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”.
The additional investment takes the total investment of Dialog Axiata to $1.96 billion (Rs. 206 billion), the highest among all FDIs operating under the BOI.
Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Director/Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC, said that “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”.