Suntel deal to upgrade quality of service

by Elmo Leonard

Suntel Ltd, a leading telecommunications solutions provider, signed an agreement with nine prominent banks in Sri Lanka to raise Rs 3 billion (Rs 106 a US dollar) and ended with a near double of that sum.

The deal was facilitated by NDB Bank and NDB Investment Bank, Suntel's longtime loyalists, acting as joint arrangers.

Suntel will invest this money for infrastructure development and deployment of its network to further expand its reach over the island, enabling more customers to access its benefits of communications.

Suntel also plans to upgrade its switches towards providing full redundancy in the event of a major disaster, while upgrading the quality of service for its CDMA customers, Suntel MD Jeremy Huxtable said.

Suntel will also offer advanced data services with higher bandwidth to its corporate and business customers.

Also, to further expand its internal IT infrastructure to enhance customer satisfaction and improve customer interactions, on day to day dealings.

The other banks involved in the financial agreement are: Nations Trust Bank, ICICI Bank, Sampath Bank, National Savings Bank, Commercial Bank, People's Bank, Bank of Ceylon and Standard Chartered. In 1996, when Suntel sought seed capital, banks shied away, NDB Investment Bank, CEO, Vajira Kulatilaka said.

Suntel is a joint venture company that brings together the resources and expertise of Swedish telecom giant Overseas Telecom AB, Metrocrop (Pvt) Ltd, Townsend Ltd of Hong Kong and International Finance Corporation (IFC) a member of the World Bank group.

Now, backed by technical and operational expertise and a stable financial base, the company will strive to provide better services and cost-effective delivery, Suntel's director marketing, Hasitha Abeywardena said.

Suntel, having expanded its territory to own the largest CDMA network in Sri Lanka continues to introduce novel and innovative ways to cater to the demands of their growing customer base, director technical, Premalal Kuruppu said.

Suntel has invested over Rs 3 billion for infrastructure development for 2006, while projected investment for 2007 will exceed Rs 3.5 billion, Suntel's chief financial officer, Viran Constantine said.

NDB Bank is reputed with a good lending portfolio and has been successful in mobilising capital at home and internationally, while floating a series of companies that enable the NDB group to engage in a range of financial services.

NDB Bank played the role of arranger and provider of financial facilities to Suntel in 2000 for a similar syndicated loan grant, while NDB Investment Bank acted as the manager to a public debenture issue.

Suntel, has seen an increase in revenue by 48 percent in the last nine months and a 50 percent growth in EBITDA over the corresponding period of the year 2005, Huxtable said. The growth in net profit for year 2006, is expected to grow by 46 percent over that of 2005, Constantine said.

elmo@sundayobserver.lk