DIALOG TELEKOM COMMENCES TRADING UNDER SIGNATURE “DIAL”
TRADING of shares of Telekom Malaysia (TM)
Sri Lankan subsidiary Dialog Telekom Limited commenced today
on the Colombo Stock Exchange under the signature DIAL.
The Dialog IPO has achieved numerous firsts on Sri Lankas
capital market including:
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The largest ever IPO in
Sri Lanka to the value of Rs.8.5billion |
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The highest level of subscription
received at an IPO: Rs 56.2billion |
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The highest level of
overseas subscription received at an IPO: Rs 40billion. |
The commencement of trading also sets a new benchmark in
terms of being the fastest to commence trading on the Colombo
Stock Exchange, just 14 market days from the closure of the
issue. It has already been announced that the Dialog IPO was
oversubscribed 6.5 times within the first hour of the opening
on 7th July 2005, TMs international investments holding
subsidiary TM International said in a statement released in
Colombo as well as Kuala Lumpur.
Sri Lankan Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Sarath Amunugama
was Guest-of-Honour at the commencement of trading at the
Colombo Stock Exchange. Also in attendance were Dialog Telekom
and TM Chairman Tan Sri Dato Ir Mohd Radzi Mansor, TM
Group Chief Executive Officer Dato Abdul Wahid Omar,
TM International CEO Yusof Annuar Yaacob, Dialog Telekom Board
members, Dialog Telekom CEO Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, and Malaysian
as well as local media.
In his opening address Tan Sri Radzi said: We have always
had the utmost faith in Sri Lanka as an investment destination
and have been undeterred by what we would regard as minor
fluctuations in the macro environment in the country
we have at all times placed our confidence in our customers
and the team at Dialog. We are happy that over 50,000 Sri
Lankan citizens and many top tier international funds have
joined us in taking the Dialog story to its next chapter.
Dato Abdul Wahid Omar said: Today is a very significant
day for both TM Group and Dialog Telekom. Dialog Telekom has
time and again given us reason to be proud of its achievements
both operationally and as a corporate entity. The result of
the over subscription of the Dialog IPO signifies a tremendous
vote of confidence in Sri Lanka as an investment destination
and concurrently has created a new dimension to public participation
in Sri Lankas capital market. This IPO is especially
significant for the Colombo Stock Exchange as it facilitates
the re-entry of many international institutional investors
after an absence of more than a decade.
In the statement, TM International also said that the company
expects proceeds of approximately Rs5 billion or USD50 million
from the IPO. Proceeds of the IPO will be utilized to fund
future investments. TMs operations in Sri Lanka via
Dialog commenced in 1995, and the company is a flagship investor
under the aegis of the Board of Investment (BoI) of Sri Lanka.
Dialog CEO Dr Hans Wijayasuriya attributed the success of
Dialogs IPO to the success of Sri Lanka as an investors
destination of choice. This, coupled with TMs
faith in the Sri Lankan consumer as well as the ability of
local Sri Lankans to lead the company made for a winning formula,
he said.
Meanwhile, true to Dialogs commitment to innovation,
the company took the unique step of symbolically commencing
trading via SMS. The company also announced the launch of
a feature that allows trading on your phone. Operating
via GSM and GPRS, this feature allows users to view, buy or
sell stocks via SMS, or in the case of GPRS, via a w@p enabled
application.
About TM
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), a leading regional information
and communications group, offers a comprehensive range of
communication services and solutions in fixed-line, mobile,
data and broadband. As one of the largest listed companies
on Bursa Malaysia with an operating revenue of more than RM13
billion, TM is driven to deliver value to its stakeholders
in a highly competitive environment.
The Group places emphasis on continuing customer service quality
enhancements and innovations. Currently, with investments
and operations in 12 countries around Asia and globally, TM
is focused on sustainable growth in both the local and international
markets.
For further information on TM, visit www.tm.com.my.
About TM International
Sdn Bhd
Through its investment-holding arm, TM International, TM is
one of the leading regional telecommunications companies with
interests in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh. Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand
and Cambodia. It also has selected investments in Africa namely
in Guinea and Malawi.
TM International has a track record of adding value to its
investments, and an approach which focuses on developing the
skills and capabilities of its local management teams and
working in partnership with these local teams to achieve strong
market positions and profitability.
Activated in 2001, TM International contributes significantly
to TMs overall performance. In the financial year ended
31 December 2004, TMs overseas investments contributed
operational profit after tax of RM419.1 million, compared
to RM399.8million the previous year.
About Dialog Telekom Limited
Dialog Telekom, Sri Lanka's flagship telecommunications
company operates Dialog GSM, the country's largest mobile
phone network. In addition to its core business of mobile
telephony, the company is a premier provider of International
Services, supporting a state of the art international gateway
infrastructure providing retail and wholesale international
voice and data services under the brand name of Dialog Global.
The Company also plays a key role in the Internet Service
Provision Market through Dialog Internet a fully-fledged
Internet Service Provider (ISP). The Company also operates
Dialog SAT, the country's pioneer Mobile Satellite Service.
Dialog Telekom operates a 2.5G GSM network, supporting the
very latest in multimedia and mobile Internet services based
on EDGE and GPRS technologies, and also provides International
Roaming facilities in over 190 countries. Dialog Telekom provides
the widest cellular coverage in the country, and serves over
1.7 Million customers from across all nine provinces of the
island. The companys subscribed base accounts for (approximately)
60% of the countrys mobile sector and 40% of total telecommunication
subscribers.
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