Hellbuster
05-20-2006, 11:25 AM
Dialog Telekom - Sri Lanka's largest mobile operator, signed an investment agreement with the Board of Investment to invest a further Rs. 15 billion (US$ 150 million) in the country's telecommunications sector within the next two years.
The investment will be targeted at mobile, wireless local loop fixed telephony, broadband, fibre optic backbone and International Gateway infrastructures.
A significant potion of this investment would be towards the deployment of fibre optic backbone, broadband and fixed telephony infrastructure sectors through Dialog Telekom's fully owned subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks (Pvt) Ltd.
To date the mammoth investment brings the total investment in Dialog Telekom, close to 450 Million US Dollars (Rs. 45 billion).
Dialog Telekom, from humble beginnings as the fourth entrant to the mobile telecommunications market in 1995 has established itself as the largest company in terms of market capitalization on the Colombo Stock Exchange and the largest mobile operator in Sri Lanka with a subscriber base of approximately 2.3 million customers distributed across all 9 provinces of the island.
Dialog Telekom, has also diversified into International Telecommunications with its power brand Dialog Global and also operates a fully fledged ISP, Dialog Internet and the country's premier satellite mobile phone service Dialog SAT.
The signing ceremony was held under the patronage of Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Rohitha Bogollagama. Investment agreements signaling a new chapter in Dialog Telekom's and Telekom Malaysia's participation in Sri Lanka's telecommunications sector were signed by Chairman of Dialog Telekom Ltd (and Telekom Malaysia Bhd), Muhammad Radzi bin Haji Mansor and Chairman/Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Prof. Lakshman R Watawala.
Muhammad Radzi said "This investment which brings Dialog's total commitment to the Telco sector to USD 450 Million, signifies our utmost and continued confidence in the Sri Lankan market and the investor friendly policies of the Sri Lankan Government.
TM sees Sri Lanka as a key growth centre in the Asian region and considers the country to be one of our best success stories outside Malaysia. Sri Lanka's forward thinking policies provides for a very fertile ground for a long-term investor like us.
Our team in Sri Lanka has delivered impressive results over the last few years and has contributed significantly to the country. We are happy to make this additional investment with the objective of playing an even bigger role on the country's telecommunications landscape".
"Dialog Telekom's investment represents more than ten per cent of Sri Lanka's target of FDI for 2006. It is therefore significant and will have an important impact on the economy", said the Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Rohitha Bogollagama.
Commenting on the time frame associated with the investment programme, Dialog Chief Executive Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said "The proposed expansion involves an aggressive coverage and capacity expansion of our GSM mobile network leading upto the establishment of our 1000th base station, the expansion of our International Gateway infrastructure and the entry into future oriented sectors across all regions of Sri Lanka.
Investment in Dialog Broadband Networks are targeted at enhancing Internet penetration levels through forward investments in deployment of a national fibre optic backbone and introduction of state-of-the-art wireless technology for broadband Internet delivery" Dr. Wijayasuriya added.
In conclusion Dr. Wijayasuriya mentioned that, "Our customers and stakeholders will see Dialog growing faster than ever before - Telekom Malaysia and Dialog Telekom share a strong commitment towards infrastructure development in Sri Lanka and to the paradigm of placing Sri Lanka on the world map of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as second to no other in the region if not the world".
The company has also ventured into Internet Services through Dialog Internet - a fully-fledged Internet Service Provider (ISP). Dialog Telekom also operates Dialog SAT, a Satellite Mobile Communications Service.
The Company's fully owned subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks (Pvt) Ltd is a key player in Sri Lanka's ICT infrastructure sector, providing backbone and transmission infrastructure facilities and data communication services.
The investment will be targeted at mobile, wireless local loop fixed telephony, broadband, fibre optic backbone and International Gateway infrastructures.
A significant potion of this investment would be towards the deployment of fibre optic backbone, broadband and fixed telephony infrastructure sectors through Dialog Telekom's fully owned subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks (Pvt) Ltd.
To date the mammoth investment brings the total investment in Dialog Telekom, close to 450 Million US Dollars (Rs. 45 billion).
Dialog Telekom, from humble beginnings as the fourth entrant to the mobile telecommunications market in 1995 has established itself as the largest company in terms of market capitalization on the Colombo Stock Exchange and the largest mobile operator in Sri Lanka with a subscriber base of approximately 2.3 million customers distributed across all 9 provinces of the island.
Dialog Telekom, has also diversified into International Telecommunications with its power brand Dialog Global and also operates a fully fledged ISP, Dialog Internet and the country's premier satellite mobile phone service Dialog SAT.
The signing ceremony was held under the patronage of Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Rohitha Bogollagama. Investment agreements signaling a new chapter in Dialog Telekom's and Telekom Malaysia's participation in Sri Lanka's telecommunications sector were signed by Chairman of Dialog Telekom Ltd (and Telekom Malaysia Bhd), Muhammad Radzi bin Haji Mansor and Chairman/Director General of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Prof. Lakshman R Watawala.
Muhammad Radzi said "This investment which brings Dialog's total commitment to the Telco sector to USD 450 Million, signifies our utmost and continued confidence in the Sri Lankan market and the investor friendly policies of the Sri Lankan Government.
TM sees Sri Lanka as a key growth centre in the Asian region and considers the country to be one of our best success stories outside Malaysia. Sri Lanka's forward thinking policies provides for a very fertile ground for a long-term investor like us.
Our team in Sri Lanka has delivered impressive results over the last few years and has contributed significantly to the country. We are happy to make this additional investment with the objective of playing an even bigger role on the country's telecommunications landscape".
"Dialog Telekom's investment represents more than ten per cent of Sri Lanka's target of FDI for 2006. It is therefore significant and will have an important impact on the economy", said the Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Rohitha Bogollagama.
Commenting on the time frame associated with the investment programme, Dialog Chief Executive Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said "The proposed expansion involves an aggressive coverage and capacity expansion of our GSM mobile network leading upto the establishment of our 1000th base station, the expansion of our International Gateway infrastructure and the entry into future oriented sectors across all regions of Sri Lanka.
Investment in Dialog Broadband Networks are targeted at enhancing Internet penetration levels through forward investments in deployment of a national fibre optic backbone and introduction of state-of-the-art wireless technology for broadband Internet delivery" Dr. Wijayasuriya added.
In conclusion Dr. Wijayasuriya mentioned that, "Our customers and stakeholders will see Dialog growing faster than ever before - Telekom Malaysia and Dialog Telekom share a strong commitment towards infrastructure development in Sri Lanka and to the paradigm of placing Sri Lanka on the world map of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) as second to no other in the region if not the world".
The company has also ventured into Internet Services through Dialog Internet - a fully-fledged Internet Service Provider (ISP). Dialog Telekom also operates Dialog SAT, a Satellite Mobile Communications Service.
The Company's fully owned subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks (Pvt) Ltd is a key player in Sri Lanka's ICT infrastructure sector, providing backbone and transmission infrastructure facilities and data communication services.