HUTCHISON Telecom has paid US$25 million for Sri Lankan cellular phone operator Lanka Cellular Services, LCS disclosed yesterday.
Newly appointed Lanka LCS managing director John Houston said Hutchison had paid $18.5 million to Singapore Telecommunications for the 78.74 per cent stake, held by its wholly owned subsidiary Singapore Telecom International.
The company paid $6.5 million for the remaining stake, held equally by Sri Lankan firm Capital Development and Investment Company and World Bank-affiliate International Finance Corporation, Mr Houston said.
There are now 75,000 mobile phones in Sri Lanka since the government permitted their use in late 1980s. Hutchison said it saw strong growth potential for the industry given the liberalised competitive environment it enjoys on the island.
'This move by our group indicates our confidence in the policies of the government of Sri Lanka and the investment climate the president [Chandrika Kumaratunga] has fostered,' Hutchison Telecommunications International managing director Koo Chek-ngee said.
Although the deal was announced on Thursday, the terms were not revealed to the public until yesterday.
