Airtel may exit from Sri lanka by selling telecom business to Etisalat

Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel is likely to exit from Sri Lankan mobile market by selling its business to Etisalat.

Hindu Business Line reported that negotiations between Bharti Airtel and Etisalat have advanced to final stages.

An announcement from Airtel is expected before the return of Manoj Kohli, managing director and chief executive officer (International) of the company, in January to India. Kohli is also in-charge of the company’s operations in Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Bharti Airtel, which launched its Sri Lanka operations in 2009, has less than two million users in the country. Airtel has invested over $300 million to roll out services in Sri Lanka but continues to make losses.

In Sri Lanka, Airtel operates across 25 administrative districts with distribution network of over 41,400 retailers. Airtel, which did not bid for 4G spectrum, offers 3.5G services which are present across major towns in Sri Lanka.

source: www.telecomlead.com