Chinese billionaire signs partnership to invest US$ 30 million with Sri Lankan satellite company
Forbes listed young billionaire of mainland China, Cai Xiaoru has reportedly signed a partnership agreement and committed to invest US$ 30 million into Sri Lankan satellite company SupremeSAT through his Shenzhen listed company Tatwah Smartech.
Local news reports stated that tThe agreement signing was concluded in Colombo, paving the way for Sri Lanka’s only satellite company to go global using the expertise and resources of the new-found investment.
The partnership with TatwahSmartec and the visiting young billionaire is set to boost SupremeSAT’s capabilities and resources further in a big way, making Sri Lanka proud in the global space arena.
“Tatwah is evolving as a globally strong player in the satellite communications industry. I am very pleased to see the remarkable growth SupremeSAT has achieved within a very short span of time, competing against many strong global brands. I am confident that this partnership will bring more value of Tatwah’s resources, and redefine the capabilities of SupremeSAT to further grow in all areas of its operations,” Chairman of Tatwah Smartech Co. Ltd., Xiaoru has said.
“As a private company hailing from a small island nation, SupremeSAT has proven to the world that the company has become a formidable player in the global space industry. Having established the long-term strategies and infrastructure to expand the company’s business we expect to accelerate our growth by way of selected acquisitions worldwide,” Supreme Global Holdings Chairman, R.M. Manivannan has been quoted as saying.
“Five years ago we vowed to take Sri Lanka to the next level of technology and we have walked the talk. Our concentration was on making Sri Lanka a formidable player in the global space industry and today we are taking another giant step towards that,” he has added.
The new strategic partnership will focus on growing SupremeSAT’s existing activities in Sri Lanka whilst also concentrating on large-scale expansion globally with the combination of synergies.
The SupremeSAT-3 Capacity created by SupremeSAT in partnership with Intelsat SA has given the company a long-term contract with Sri Lanka’s Dialog TV thus providing over 90% the local market share. The company is hence concentrating on growth globally for further expansion.
“During an era where even countries were finding it difficult to launch a satellite, we as a Sri Lankan private company achieved that goal and we did not stop there. We continued building the state-of-the-art space port located in Pallekele, Kandy which is not only providing satellite control services but has now commenced building of small satellites and will soon become the region’s best satellite control centre controlling many satellites of the world.”
OSL take:
The investment in a Sri Lankan company by Chinese billionaire Xiaoru is a positive sign for other businesses in the country to explore the possibility to reach such joint ventures. On the other hand, the expansion of SupremeSAT following the investment by the Chinese billionaire would result in the country looking at the development of next level technology. Investors interested in space/satellite technologies could look at the investment opportunities available in Sri Lanka.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20180116/Z_4 |