Singapore Telecom to invest US$280m in Asia

Singapore Telecom to invest US$280m in Asia

Agence France Presse, Singapore

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. said it will invest US$280
million over three years to provide an integrated communications
and data storage service across Asia after launching a Japanese
service Friday.

SingTel, which made key acquisitions in Australia and
Indonesia this year, said it will invest $9 million for a service
in Japan.

By next year, the company aims to offer the service to clients
in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and
India. It also has data centers in Singapore, Hong Kong,
Australia, South Korea and Taiwan.

"SingTel expects to invest about $280 million over three years
to provide these services across Asia," the company said in a
statement.

The service allows multinational firms, application service
providers and those in Internet-related businesses to outsource
their communications networks and web-hosting needs to SingTel.

SingTel president and chief executive Lee Hsien Yang, who was
in Japan for the launch, said growth opportunities in the region
abound despite the economic downturn.

"As SingTel grows to become Asia's leading telecommunications
provider, we will continue to extend our presence in Japan," Lee
said, adding that Internet use in Japan is among the highest in
Asia.

"Despite the current economic downturn, we believe that the
Asia-Pacific still offers tremendous opportunities for growth in
telecommunications services," he said in a speech, copies of
which were released here.

SingTel boosted its ambition of becoming a pan-Asian
telecommunications giant with the $9 billion acquisition of
Australia's second largest telecoms player Cable and Wireless
Optus earlier this year.

Last month, it bought a 22.3 percent stake in PT
Telekomunikasi (Telekomsel), Indonesia's largest mobile carrier
for $602 million.

The company has stakes in other key Asian carriers including
Globe Telecom of the Philippines, India's Bharti Group,
Thailand's Advanced Info Service and New Century Infocomm of
Taiwan.