Tuesday, May 27, 2008

No.1! Corporate In Sri Lanka

30th April 2008, Colombo – Dialog Telekom PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier telecommunications service provider has been ranked No 1 among Sri Lanka’s Top 10 companies. The Business Today Top 10 was published April 2008, and ranks Sri Lanka’s top corporate entities based on their performance during the 2006/7 period. Sri Lanka’s much acclaimed Business Magazine Business Today (BT) uses a multi-dimensional financial performance evaluation model to rate Sri Lanka’s leading public listed entities.

The Business Today financial performance evaluation is carried out on corporate entities listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange and is based strictly on published financial information. The multi-dimensional performance evaluation model uses a

calculated blend of multiple financial performance indicators encompassing Sales Turnover, Growth in Sales Turnover, Profits, Growth in Profits, Return on Equity, Earnings per Share, Market Capitalization, Values of Shares Transacted and Value Addition.

Recording the highest profit among publicly listed companies, Dialog Telekom's has displayed aggressive growth across multiple dimensions of its business including but not limited to subscriber acquisition, service portfolio, new technology and turnover.

Dialog Telekom entered the elite BT Top 10 in 2005/6, soon after its record breaking entry on to the Colombo Stock Exchange. Rated No 3 in 2005/6, the company was swift to reach the pinnacle of corporate success with a No 1 Ranking in the very next year.

As described by Business Today " Envisioning a market that knows no borders, Dialog Telekom embraces a corporate philosophy that seeks to create new and at times unseen markets, while paying equal emphasis to expanding. Due credit should be given to the company for leaping from third position to first by investing and introducing the appropriate technology, developing the market and the consistently adding value, and in the process bringing pride to Sri Lanka by setting the trends for mobile telephony in the region".

Dialog Telekom has continued to lead the mobile industry in Sri Lanka – propelling the country’s mobile telephony penetration level to over 38% as at the end of 2007. Recognised as Sri Lanka’s single largest infrastructure investor over the past years, the company has consistently placed Sri Lanka ahead of the region in terms of Mobile Communications technology and its adoption across multiple segments of society. The company has been successful in creating an infrastructure footprint spanning all provinces of Sri Lanka delivering empowerment through affordable connectivity to Sri Lankan citizens from across the country.

Venturing on an aggressive drive towards delivering converged connectivity services based on a quadruple play business formulation, Dialog Telekom and its subsidiaries have commencing 2005, established a service portfolio encompassing fixed line, broadband and digital television services in addition to the core mobile telecommunications service offerings based on GSM and 3/3.5G technologies.

“While being proud to receive this recognition as the No 1 company from among the BT Top10, we would like to extend our gratitude to our customers for their unfailing support throughout our journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of corporate success” said Dr Hans Wijayasuriya Group Chief Executive of Dialog Telekom PLC. “A company is not an island operating in isolation- we are indebted to a large number of stakeholders for our success – the Government of Sri Lanka and its agencies - in particular the TRCSL and the BoI, our shareholders including our principal investor Telekom Malaysia, our Business Partners and the Dialog Team – to name but a few. This recognition will no doubt spur the Dialog Team to reach greater heights with the objective of delivering increasing dividends towards the development of the nation and the Sri Lankan people”

Dialog Telekom is the largest listed company on the Colombo Stock Exchange in terms of Market Capitalization with a capitalization of LKR 188.79 Bn (USD 1.73 Bn) (as of 31 March 2007). The company has the distinction of becoming the first company in Sri Lanka to achieve a market capitalization exceeding USD 1 billion. Dialog Telekom is the largest mobile operator in Sri Lanka with 4.26 million subscribers as at 31 December 2007.

Sri Lanka's Best Brand

17th April 2008, Colombo Dialog Telekom, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider emerged at the pinnacle of Sri Lanka’s Top 100 Brand Index, for the second year in succession. Brand rankings for the Year 2007 were disclosed by Brand Finance (Lanka) together with its in-depth performance analysis and rating of Sri Lanka’s top brands.

The Dialog brand reached a valuation of SLR 12,401 millionbillion, recording a value enhancement relative to its prior year value of SLR 12,324 million.

Since the initial introduction of the brand league table in 2005, the list of brands being reviewed by Brand Finance has increased steadily to reach a total of 100 brands at the 2007 evaluation. The overall analysis conducted by brand finance uses publicly available data along with an extensive market study which comprised of 1,600

The Future World Service Centre at Darley Road, takes the brand to the people by offering Dialog's quadruple services.



respondents. Brand Finance continues to espouse the importance of recognizing and growing brand equity with an emphasis on par with that applied to tangible assets of a business.

The Dialog brand has progressively embedded itself in the hearts, minds and lives of Sri Lankans from across multiple social segments and demographies., Significantly, the Dialog brand has grown in breadth in terms of the range of connectivity related products and services it represents in the consumer space, Likewise the Brand has interacted with the community at large through a balanced mix of sales and marketing activities as well as Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

Speaking on the company’s superlative brand valuation, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya Group Chief Executive of Dialog Telekom PLC said “Our brand belongs to, and lives within our customers. It is they who have made the brand in to what it is today. The value of our brand is indicative of the true value and potential of our Sri Lankan consumer. We had the opportunity of bringing together modern connectivity technology and the Sri Lankan citizen, the result is the regions leading market in terms of telephony penetration, technology adoption and socio –economic value realization across multiple levels of the economic pyramid – the dividends derivable from the equity of the Dialog brand are hence multi-faceted and beneficial to the nation at large.”

Relative to its beginnings and undisputed success as a Mobile Telecommunications service provider, Dialog has, over the past years transformed itself into a converged connectivity provider operating on a quadruple play business formulation encompassing mobile and fixed telephony, digital television, and broadband services.

Commenting on the Dialog brand and its direction as perceived by the Company today Mr. Nushad Perera Group Chief Marketing Officer for Dialog Telekom said “We see the Dialog brand as being a driver of enrichment and empowerment to Sri Lankan citizens and businesses. Today Dialog is honored to be a part of most Sri Lankan homes. When we envision the future of our brand ‘Dialog’ we go beyond the cosmetics of the logo and brand architecture to examine how connected it has become with the Sri Lankan population and how we can further this connection into a long term relationship.”

Mobile Environment Education Programme

Dialog Telekom PLC, Sri Lanka’s leading telecommunications provider recently joined hands with the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), the Biodiversity & Elephant Conservation Trust (BECT) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature & Natural Resources (IUCN) to launch a unique environmental education programme for children. The Mobile Environment Education Programme (MEEP) aims to raise awareness on natural resources and biodiversity among future generations while making them ambassadors for the protection of biodiversity in the long-term.

Dialog Telekom has undertaken to be the initiator of the MEEP programme by setting up the entire mobile unit which will carry a series of workshops to 150 schools by the end of this year. While providing the principal funding for the entire project, Dialog Telekom will also develop suitable technologies to enhance environmental education among rural schools in Sri Lanka. The MEEP project will be initiated through a series of mobile workshops which will be delivered in 150 schools throughout this year. These workshops will be carried out through the MEEP van which will be fully equipped with necessary technologies to deliver the workshops in the most interactive manner possible to schools across the island.

The content and material which will be used at the workshops was developed by BECT and was reviewed and approved by the CEA and IUCN. BECT would play a frontline role in entire project by delivering the information to over 37,000 school children ranging from eight to eighteen years of age while IUCN would be continuously reviewing the programme and contribution towards the improvement of the workshop.

The best ‘green’ effort made by the schools subsequent to the programme will be judged and the best school will be rewarded, which will also work towards instilling a long term sense of understanding of the benefits of environmental consciousness among school children. Commenting on this further Mr. Mothilal De Silva, Chief Group Corporate Officer said “Dialog Telekom has always recognized the importance of maintaining biodiversity within the environment. Through this project we will be able to use our technology towards raising a sense of environmental consciousness amongst the future generations of Sri Lankans who will then be able to reap the benefits of well balanced and diverse eco system.”

Dialog Telekom’s Corporate Responsibility practice focuses on reaching out to all segments of society regardless of demographic disparity, to enrich the nation through inclusion. The company is committed to serving the nation in support of national development goals through its community outreach initiatives while maintaining highest ethics in operational spheres by good governance. The best practices imbued through its Corporate Responsibility initiatives have earned Dialog three consecutive World GSM Awards.

Army Commando Regiment Camp with a new Water Therapy Unit

Colombo, 05th March 2008: Dialog Telekom PLC announced March 5th the gifting of a fully equipped water therapy unit to the physiotherapy centre of the Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment Camp located in Ganemulla, Kadawatha. The water therapy unit will aid the recovery process of disabled Commandos and facilitate restoring and maintaining a level of physical function that leads to independent living. The handing over ceremony was held under the auspices of Mrs. Sugandhi Kadirgamar, wife of the late Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Hon. Lakshman Kadirgamar.

The Commando Regiment Camp is home to over 200 disabled Commandos and an approximate number of 500 disabled Commandos receive treatment at the camp on a daily basis. The newly established water therapy unit is fully equipped with a Jacuzzi, Dry Sauna, and Steam Room, further upgrading the facilities of the physiotherapy centre which provides many other treatment facilities for the disabled. The new water therapy unit will assist disabled Commandos to overcome numerous physical limitations through proper therapeutic intervention as water therapy is a popular treatment method used to treat individuals with physical impairments.

Speaking at the occasion Mrs. Kadirgamar said, “I’m truly grateful to all those who have contributed in making this water therapy unit a reality and especially for naming the physiotherapy centre after late Hon. Lakshman Kadirgamar who played a key role in establishing this centre. The water therapy unit was a much needed treatment facility for our physically impaired Commandos and I’m certain that the newly established unit will meet this need and be of great use to our disabled Commandos.”

Commenting about the company’s involvement in the project, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Telekom PLC said, “Physiotherapy plays a very important role in the rehabilitation of the physically impaired. Dialog Telekom is privileged to be of service to those members of the Commando regiment who have suffered impairment during the course of serving the nation. As a company that firmly believes in empowering all segments of society, we will continue to extend our support to the differently abled across multiple segments of society, with a view to driving empowerment and thereby enhancement to the quality of life of affected individuals”.

Dialog Telekom’s Corporate Responsibility practice focuses on reaching out to all segments of society regardless of demographic disparity, to enrich the nation through inclusion. The company is committed to serving the nation in support of national development goals through its community outreach initiatives while maintaining highest ethics in operational spheres by good governance. The best practices imbued through its Corporate Responsibility initiatives have earned Dialog three consecutive World GSM Awards for using digital technology for community benefit. For more information log on to www.dialog.lk/responsibility