Singtel buys Telkomsel shares

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) signed an agreement on Wednesday for the purchase of Royal KPN NV's 22.3 percent stake in Indonesia's largest cellular operator PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel).

An executive, who declined to be named, told The Jakarta Post that the sale had been finalized on Wednesday afternoon at Telkomsel's office in South Jakarta and that the deal was valued at US$600 million.

The purchase of the Dutch telco's shares will further strengthen SingTel's presence in the Asia-Pacific region and builds on its ambition for a pan-Asia network.

This is especially true in the wake of SingTel's recent takeover of Australia's second largest cellular operator Cable & Wireless Optus Ltd. It has also invested in India's Bharti Group and holds minority equity stakes in the Philippines and Thailand.

The remaining 77.7 percent of Telkomsel is owned by state- owned telecommunications company PT Telkom.

Telkomsel currently has the largest number of cellular subscribers in the country with more than 2.5 million customers signed up.

The company has targeted a total of 3 million subscribers by the end of the year.

Separately, Telkomsel's Director of Operations Laurens Bulters declined to comment while saying that "you will have to wait for the press release".

Bulters declined to comment as both SingTel and KPN were publicly listed companies.