Amari Colombo wins Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel 2025 at World Travel Awards

Amari Colombo has been honoured as Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel 2025 at the World Travel Awards (WTA), Asia and Oceania Gala Ceremony held in Hong Kong in October 2025. This accolade recognises the hotel’s exceptional standards of service, contemporary design, and its position as a benchmark for business hospitality in Sri Lanka.

The glittering ceremony, held in partnership with Hong Kong International Airport and InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong, brought together the region’s most distinguished travel and hospitality brands to celebrate excellence across Asia and Oceania.

“We are truly delighted and honoured to be recognised as Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel,” said Amari Colombo General Manager Monty Ariyaratne. “This award is a testament to our team’s unwavering commitment to delivering warm, personalised service and creating an inspiring environment for both business and leisure travellers. We share this achievement with our valued guests and dedicated team members who make the Amari experience so special.”

Amari Colombo, part of ONYX Hospitality Group, embodies modern elegance infused with the warmth of Thai-inspired service. Ideally located in the heart of Colombo’s vibrant business district, the hotel caters to discerning travellers with world-class amenities, stylish meeting spaces, and exceptional dining venues—all designed to foster connection, productivity, and comfort.

The World Travel Awards, established in 1993, are globally recognised as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence, celebrating the best in travel, tourism, and hospitality. The Asia and Oceania Gala Ceremony 2025 showcased leading lights of the region, including destinations, resorts, hotels, and tourism boards that continue to raise the standard of global travel.

World Travel Awards Founder Graham Cooke remarked: “Tonight we have celebrated the leading lights of travel across Asia and Oceania. Our winners represent the very best in tourism excellence, and I congratulate each and every one for raising the benchmark of achievement across this remarkable region.” Amari Colombo wins Sri Lanka’s Leading Business Hotel 2025 at World Travel Awards | Daily FT

Read More........ → February 27, 2026

MTN to take control of IHS Towers for $2.2 billion

Posted by Harry Baldock: The operator says reintegrating the tower assets will strengthen its African operations and improve financial metrics

African telco giant MTN Group is set to take full control of IHS Towers, one of Africa’s largest independent tower companies, in a deal valued at $6.2 billion.

The deal will see MTN acquire the 75% stake in IHS that it doesn’t already own for $2.2 billion in cash.

“This proposed transaction is a pivotal step in further strengthening MTN Group’s strategic and financial position for a future where digital infrastructure will become ever more essential to Africa’s growth and development. This transaction gives us a unique opportunity to buy back our towers and strengthen our ability to be partners for progress to the nation states in which we operate,” said MTN CEO Ralph Mupita.

The deal is subject to the typical regulatory approvals, with watchdogs likely to look closely at the impact on competition, given IHS also rents their infrastructure to MTN’s rivals across Africa.

For MTN, the move represents something of a strategic U-turn. The operator group has pursued an asset-light approach for the past decade, selling many of its towers – largely to IHS – in multiple markets.

In recent years, however, MTN’s relationship with the tower company has grown more complicated. The operator has repeatedly complained about IHS’s corporate governance, particularly that IHS had capped its voting rights at 20%, despite MTN owning a stake of around 26% in the business.

At the same time, IHS saw major losses from the devaluation of the Nigerian naira in 2023, leading MTN to attempt to seek adjusted lease terms to reduce foreign‑currency exposure.

Given this increasingly difficult operating relationship, MTN’s stake acquisition represents an opportunity to simplify and de-risk the company’s balance sheet by removing long‑term lease liabilities.Market watchers will be watching whether MTN’s reintegration of roughly 29,000 African sites delivers the financial and strategic gains management forecasts, and whether rivals respond with selective buybacks, new sharing deals, or continued reliance on independent towercos. MTN to take control of IHS Towers for $2.2 billion - Total Telecom

Read More........ → February 26, 2026