Airtel employees welcome merging with Robi

Axiata senior leadership and Robi officials have extended a warm welcome to the Airtel employees who have opted to join the merged company. A colourful ceremony was organized at a city hotel on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 to mark the occasion. With everyone clad in the unique Robi Punjabi, the gathering took on a festive look.

Robi’s senior management team members were all present to welcome the new joiners in the merged company. The company’s Chief Corporate and People Officer, Matiul Islam Nowshad conducted the event as the Master of Ceremony.

Video message from the Hon’ble State Minister, Posts & Telecommunications Division (PTD), Tarana Halim, MP; Secretary, PTD, Md. Faizur Rahman Chowdhury and Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman, Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood for picture-2Robi- the merged company were played at the event. Video message from Axiata’s Managing Director/ President & Group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim was also played on the occasion.

Hon’ble State Minister in her video message congratulated Robi family on beginning this new journey with new spirit. Terming Digital Bangladesh as the prime element of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Vision 2021, she expressed her optimism that Robi would start working with new enthusiasm for implementing the vision by widening its network so that each and every Bangladeshi even in the remote corners comes under its coverage.

BTRC Chairman, Dr. Mahmood in is video message congratulated Robi for successfully completing the first ever merger of the country in the telecom sector. He said that, “I am confident that this merger will increase competiveness in the telecom sector. This competiveness would ultimately help our consumers. They’ll get better services. While completing the merger process, we had emphasized on the best interests of the employees – whether they opt to join the new company or not.”

Secretary PTD, Faizur Rahman in his video message also highlighted that the merger will ultimately benefit the customers the most. He congratulated all the employees of this new company and wished the merged company a successful future.

Axiata Chief Tan Sri Jamaludin in his video message said that, “Bangladeshi telecom market is highly competitive; merger with Airtel now puts us in a position to expand our business with innovative products and services. I am sure the merged company will be able to win the hearts and minds of its subscribers by ensuring exceptional quality of service for them.”

Axiata’s Regional CEO for South Asia, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya and Dialog Axiata Plc, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider’s Group’s Deputy Chief Executive and CEO designate, Supun Weerasinghe were also present on the occasion. Supun will be succeeding Dr Hans as the Dialog’s CEO effective on January 01, 2017.

In his address to the new joiners, Dr. Hans explained Axiata’s vision behind the merger and encouraged the employees to work towards transforming into the Next Generation Digital Company by 2021. Supun shared his experience of working on the merger and gave a moving speech to the employees requesting them the pull up their socks and get to work immediately to make this merger a successful one.

Robi’s Managing Director and CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed in his speech said that, “We are very glad to have majority of the Airtel employees joining the merged company. I am sure with your hard work and dedication, we will be able to be the market leader in the near future.”

PD Sarma, the CEO of erstwhile Airtel Bangladesh was formally given farewell by the Robi management along with the new joiners in Robi from Airtel. Robi’s Management Council (MC) members thanked Sarma for his tireless efforts in ensuring the successful merger of Robi and Airtel. The MC members handed memento to Sarma as a token of appreciation.

Robi Axiata Limited has set sail as the merged company on November 16, 2016. The completion of merger process follows the 9 September 2015 announcement of both parties entering into an exclusive discussion to explore possibility of combining the business operations in Bangladesh.

In completing the merger, Axiata now holds 68.7% controlling stake in the combined entity, while Bharti holds 25%. The remaining 6.3% will be held by the existing shareholder, NTT DOCOMO of Japan.

ABOUT ROBI AS THE MERGED COMPANY

Robi Axiata Limited is a joint venture between Axiata Group of Malaysia, Bharti Airtel, of India and NTT Docomo Inc., of Japan. Axiata holds 68.7% controlling stake in the entity, Bharti holds 25% while the remaining 6.3% is held by NTT Docomo of Japan. It is the second largest mobile phone operator of Bangladesh with approximately 32.2 million active subscribers. The company provides widest network coverage to 99% of the population with over 13,900 on-air sites of which over 8,000 are 3.5G sites. Robi is the first operator to introduce GPRS and 3.5G services in Bangladesh. The company has introduced many first of its kind digital services in the country and has invested heavily in taking mobile financial services to the underserved communities in the rural and semi-urban areas. Robi, as a socially responsible brand, has taken up a number of flagship Corporate Responsibility initiatives in the areas of ICT-Education, Health and Environment with a view to contribute towards the sustainable development of the country.


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