Axiata remains committed to long-term investment in SL

Tuesday, 20 September 2016 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Axiata Group Berhad (‘Axiata’ or ‘the Group’) notes that an article published on Bloomberg newswires captioned ‘Axiata Said to Seek Buyers for $700 Million of Overseas Holdings,’ dated 13 September, may have led to some speculation and/or confusion with respect to the Group’s commitment going forward towards Sri Lanka’s telecommunications sector and its 83%-owned subsidiary Dialog Axiata PLC (‘Dialog’).

In a statement issued on the same day, Axiata had clarified that while there were no specific transactions envisaged, the Group, in its normal course of business, continuously reviews multiple strategic options which would enhance shareholder value, including but not limited to the optimisation of its investment portfolio across 10 Asian countries encompassing a customer base of approximately 300 million.

Within Sri Lanka, Axiata has been a committed investor since 1995 (21 years) and has been recognised as the single largest foreign direct investor in in the country by the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka. Investments made towards the development of Sri Lanka’s telecommunications sector by Dialog exceed $ 1.9 billion. Dialog now ranks among the five most valuable companies on Sri Lanka’s Stock Exchange and is also Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider and mobile market leader.

In recognising with appreciation the support and investment facilitation extended to Axiata and Dialog over the years by the Government of Sri Lanka and its agencies, the Group wishes to clarify and confirm that Axiata will continue to fortify its commitment to Dialog and the Sri Lanka market.

Dialog is one of the top performing investments in the Asia-wide portfolio of the Group, and Axiata will continue to support the company as it continues to lead the country’s connectivity sector into the emerging digital era.