Maxis to infuse regional expertise in Lankan operations
Pravin MENDIS in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur: Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) stands to gain from the
synergies of the Maxis Commmunications Group of Malaysia, with the
acquisition of a market share of 42 percent by GTH, a subsidiary of the
Usaha Tegas Group.
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T. Ananda Krishnan |
Maxis CEO/Executive Director Sandip Das told a visiting media
delegation here that Maxis is excited to be part of the new venture.
“With the current assets and the experience of Sri Lanka Telecom in
the Telco industry we feel that we can help out in improving the current
portfolio to the benefit of customers”, the CEO said.
“We feel that with our Group experience in Malaysia, Indonesia and
India, we can truly contribute to and help the SLT to devise new
strategies to enhance the synergies and also put up a strong alliance
with our backing and help”, he said.
Das said the investments for the SLT share acquisition have come from
within the Maxis Group.
He said the issue of a de-listing does not arise at this stage since
the Government will continue to administer its holding stake in SLT
shares.
The CEO expressed optimism that the Maxis Group will be able to
infuse dynamism and regional expertise gained by the company in its
operations in the Asian region to take SLT to greater heights.
“We are happy and excited about being able to make a significant
contribution to the operations in SLT and also help the company to be a
leading market player and we hope to put up a strong alliance in the
near future”, Das said at the Maxis Tower in the Kuala Lumpur City
Centre.
The CEO also said Maxis will be able to contribute significantly to
the mobile arm of SLT, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel.’
“The biggest impact of our presence will be felt in the mobile arm of
Sri Lanka Telecom. We feel that we can contribute significantly to help
increase the level operations in Mobitel and Sri Lanka still has a lot
of potential in this aspect”, he said.
Das said they hope to meet the SLT and Government officials to
discuss the new starategies the company hopes to formulate after the
mandatory offer expires on June2.
Maxis is a subsidiary of the Usaha Tegas Group (UTSB).
The Maxis Group has a 42% mobile market share in Malaysia with
revenue of over US$2.3 billion.
T. Ananda Krishnan, Malaysia’s second richest man with a networth of
US$ 4 billion, controls the company.
The company was named the Asain Mobile Operator of the Year in 2007. |
