 "Bharti Airtel")
Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced the merger of operations of Bharti Airtel Lanka, with Dialog — a subsidiary of Malaysian multinational telecommunications conglomerate Axiata Group Berhad.
Bharti Airtel Lanka is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, which began commercial operations in Sri Lanka in 2009. The proposed transaction envisages Airtel being granted a stake in Dialog, representing the fair value of Airtel Lanka, Bharti Airtel said in a statement.
Airtel will accordingly be issued new shares in Dialog on completion of the transaction. “Discussions with respect to the proposed transaction are going on between the parties and also with the relevant regulatory authorities as per applicable laws and regulations. The proposed transaction is subject to signing of definitive agreements and necessary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory and shareholder approvals,” it clarified.
Dialog is Sri Lanka’s largest telecom provider, and the merger is expected to give Airtel access to a much larger user base. The new entity is set to become the largest telecom provider in the country. Majority government-owned SLT-Mobitel is the second largest player in the market. Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka, formed as a result of a merger between Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings Limited and United Arab Emirate-based Etisalat in 2018.
Bharti Airtel Lanka was the fastest operator to reach 1 million customers. The company claims its offerings have focused on technology innovation, which has driven rapid adoption rates among Sri Lanka’s youth population. Their impact in the market includes the introduction of several innovative services, such as the lowest rates for voice services, the lowest IDD and international voice and data roaming rates.
It has a 5G-ready 4G network across all parts of the country. It is also in the process of boosting its network capacity and has held its latest trials of 5G technology over its commercial network, achieving download speeds of over 1.9 Gbps — the highest recorded in the country to date.
According to the International Telecommunications Union, Sri Lanka had 30.76 million subscribers as of 2021, and the mobile network coverage was 99 per cent. The country is reportedly preparing for the implementation of commercial 5G services this year. However, the island nation’s major economic crisis, uncertain political situation and an increase in the telecommunications levy from 11.25 per cent to 15 per cent for operators are likely to hamper future 5G rollouts.
