Singapore Telecom 02 (Feb 12 - Dec 24)

[iam802]

Moody's Investors Service downgrades SingTel (downgrade to AA3)

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 39/1/.html

[winston]

not vested

SingTel opens remittance outlet

Service allows foreign workers to remit funds via Gcash to Philippines.

Next week, SingTel will launch a new outlet to allow users to remit funds to Globe mobile wallet accounts in the Philippines.

The service is targeted at foreign workers in Singapore, and will allow them to credit Globe's "Gcash" accounts, tied to mobile numbers with SingTel's affiliate.

Globe is a Filipino telco, in which SingTel owns 47 per cent.

The outlet opens at Lucky Plaza in Orchard Road on Monday. The mall is a popular spot for foreign workers, and there are several remittance outlets there.

The new over-the-counter service is the first step in SingTel's larger plan for the region.

By the fourth quarter this year, it plans to allow mobile-to-mobile remittance with Globe. Users will be able to credit Gcash accounts in the Philippines by SMS.

SingTel claims the "mRemit" service will allow users to send money over within seconds, and plans to offer this at competitive rates, although representatives were mum on exact prices.

Once their accounts have been credited, users in the Philippines can withdraw the cash from participating ATMs in the country.

They can also use their digital funds to pay for bills and groceries.

SingTel said bills can be paid with SMS commands to credit merchants who accept Gcash, and participating merchants are able to send SMS triggers to users' phones. A personal identification number (PIN) keyed into a phone on the spot will complete the transaction.

Source: AmFraser

[winston]

not vested

Temasek selling up to 500m SingTel shares: term sheet

SINGAPORE - Singapore's Temasek Holdings will sell as many as 500 million shares in Singapore Telecommunications Ltd to raise up to $1.34 billion, according to a term sheet seen by IFR late on Tuesday.

The transaction comprises a base size of 400 million SingTel shares at S$3.20 and S$3.25, which works out to around S$1.3 billion. It includes an upsize option for another 100 million shares that if exercised will raise the deal size to $1.34 billion.

A Temasek spokesman confirmed the sale.

"We continue to be a significant shareholder in SingTel. As an active investor for the long term, we rebalance our portfolio from time to time," he said.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/breakin ... t-20120925

[winston]

not vested

SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest telecommunication operator, gained as much as 1.1 percent to S$3.61, the strongest level since early August.

Morgan Stanley advised investors to accumulate SingTel shares as the telco offers a "solid combination of growth and yield", with a price-earnings ratio of 13.8 times.

The business environment is improving for all of SingTel's key operating businesses, it added.

Source: Reuters

[winston]

not vested

SingTel Q3 net profit falls worse-than-expected 8.3 pct

SINGAPORE, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd , Southeast Asia's largest telecommunications operator, posted on Thursday an 8.3 percent fall in third-quarter net profit as weakness in India and the strong Singapore dollar offset improved results from Thailand and Indonesia.

SingTel, Singapore's largest company by market capitalisation, earned S$827 million ($667.99 million) in the three months ended December, down from S$902 million a year ago.

Its results lagged the S$900 million average estimate of three analysts polled by Reuters.

The lower profit was partly due to exceptional charges of S$67 million, including Optus' ex-gratia payments for the restructuring of its workforce and accelerated depreciation charges related to Philippine associate Globe Telecom's network modernisation and IT transformation programmes.

SingTel's underlying net profit fell 2.3 percent to S$874 million from S$895 million a year ago.

Looking ahead, SingTel said it expects group consolidated revenue to decline by low single-digit level for the current financial year ending March 2013, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation remaining stable.

SingTel, the dominant telecom operator in Singapore, owns Optus in Australia as well as large stakes in regional players such as India's Bharti, Indonesia's Telkomsel and Thailand's Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) .


Source: Reuters

[winston]

not vested

Barclays Research raised SingTel's target price to S$3.65 from S$3.50 and kept its 'overweight' rating.

The brokerage expects a flattish earnings profile for SingTel this fiscal year, but foresees a 12 percent three-year earnings compound annual growth rate thereafter.

Shares of SingTel fell more than 2 percent on Thursday after it posted weak third-quarter earnings.


Source: Reuters

[iam802]

I suspect satellite business is not a high growth area. More importantly, they are losing revenue in the core business and there is an urgent need to invest in digital business.


--
SingTel Says Satellite Investment Trumps Tie-Up: Southeast Asia

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/201 ... -asia.html

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (ST) Chief Executive Officer Chua Sock Koong considered partnerships and the sale of the company’s Australian satellite unit before deciding this week to invest further in the business.

Southeast Asia’s biggest phone company was seeking more than A$2 billion ($1.8 billion) for the Optus Satellite unit, which provides television, radio, phone, Internet data and military signals to Australia, New Zealand and the Antarctic, people familiar with the matter said last month.

“The objective of the strategic review was to see if there were other options, whether it’s through further investments, through divestments, partnerships,” Chua said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. “The outcome of the review is that it would create the most value if we continue to keep the business and to invest in the business.”

The decision to keep the satellite unit came after a review of the asset since March. Investment into the unit, bought as part of the $9.69 billion takeover of Australia’s Optus in 2001, comes as SingTel plans a new satellite launch in the next 12 months. Optus, the country’s second-biggest phone company, accounts for about two-thirds of SingTel’s revenue.

“The satellite business is always something that helps diversify your revenues, and it gives you exposure to the broadcasting industry in Australia and New Zealand,” said Kelvin Goh, an analyst at CIMB Securities in Kuala Lumpur, who rates the stock neutral. The key concern is the effect of a stronger Singapore dollar on earnings from markets such as Australia, he said.

The Australian dollar has fallen 8.3 percent against the Singapore counterpart this year.

Rising Earnings

SingTel reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates yesterday, helped by cost cuts at the Optus unit and higher earnings from associates. Net income rose 7 percent to S$1.01 billion ($797 million) in the three months to June, compared with the S$928.7 million average of three analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The company owns stakes in phone companies including India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd. (BHARTI), Thailand’s Advance Info Service Pcl (ADVANC), Indonesia’s PT Telekomunikasi Selular and Globe Telecom Inc. (GLO) in the Philippines.

India’s rupee lost 6.9 percent this year, crimping Bharti Airtel’s contribution when repatriated, while the Philippine peso fell 2.6 percent. The Indonesian rupiah also weakened against the Singapore currency, while the Thai baht climbed.

Raising Cash

SingTel shares fell 1.3 percent to S$3.76 at the Singapore close, the lowest since July 10. The decline pared the gain this year to 14 percent, compared with a 1.7 percent advance in the Singapore benchmark Straits Times Index. (FSSTI)

Divesting Optus Satellite would have helped finance the S$2 billion of acquisitions that SingTel is planning to expand its digital operations, a target reiterated by Chua yesterday. She didn’t give further details on the satellite unit review.

SingTel also considered an initial public offering of the unit after drawing lower-than-expected bids, people with knowledge of the process said last week.

“To SingTel’s management, they feel that it’s a strong and attractive business,” said Jonathan Koh, an analyst at UOB Kay-Hian Research in Singapore, who rates the stock hold. “The margins are very high but the direct synergies are very minimal.”

Optus Satellite attracted bidders including Intelsat SA (I), the Luxembourg-based commercial satellite operator, people familiar with the matter said Aug. 9. A group that included Measat Global Bhd., TPG Capital and Blackstone Group LP dropped out of bidding and signaled to SingTel that it wasn’t willing to pay more than $1.7 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the deliberations.

Broadcast Market

“The satellite business is a very successful business, very profitable business and serves the broadcast market in addition to the telecoms market,” Chua said, without giving specific financial details of the satellite unit.

In March, SingTel said it was considering options for Optus Satellite. It hasn’t reported separate earnings figures for the unit since the 2001 takeover.

With five spacecraft in orbit, Optus Satellite broadcasts signals to more than 2 million Australian households and companies with plans to launch a sixth satellite. Its customers include state-owned Australian Broadcasting Corp., the Foxtel joint venture between Telstra Corp. (TLS) and News Corp., and Australia’s Department of Defence.

“We had over the last few years already renewed our satellite fleet,” Chua said. “We have another satellite that would be launched within the next 12 months. Obviously with the new satellite planned, we’ll be looking at further services that we can offer with the satellite.”

[iam802]

Should this deal even be allowed?

Doesn't it gives SingTel an unfair advantage over Starhub and other providers?

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SingTel's NetLink Trust seeking to acquire OpenNet for S$126m

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/bus ... 86680.html

[iam802]

I see this as SingTel doing NS

--

Temasek seeks SingTel as buyer for $3.1 billion Shin Corp stake: sources

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/ ... H520140217

(Reuters) - Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pvt Ltd is seeking to sell its $3.1 billion stake in Thai telecom company Shin Corp INTUCH.BK, according to people familiar with the matter, and has approached its SingTel (STEL.SI) unit as a possible buyer.

Temasek TEM.UL, which owns 41.6 percent of Shin Corp through a subsidiary, held talks with Singapore Telecommunications Co, as SingTel is formally known, late last year, but those discussions have since stalled, said the people, who declined to be identified as the information is not public.

Temasek owns a majority stake in SingTel.

The ongoing political unrest in Thailand was among the reasons the discussions were put on hold, the people said.

A spokesman for Temasek Holdings declined to comment on the talks, but added in an email, "we are a long term investor in Asia including in ASEAN."

A Shin Corp official in Bangkok declined to comment. A SingTel spokeswoman also declined comment.

..

[behappyalways]

Singtel breakdown for more than 10 hours; mobile data charges to be waived
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/12 ... be-waived/



Singtel: 80% of fibre broadband services have been restored as of Sunday 7am
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2016/12 ... unday-7am/