SingTel concerned to buy out mobile phone rival
SingTel concerned to buy out mobile phone rival
SINGAPORE (AP): Singapore Telecommunications is interested in
buying out its mobile phone competitor MobileOne, a SingTel
spokesman said Saturday.
MobileOne, or M1, became SingTel's first competitor in 1997,
ending SingTel's long-time telecoms monopoly in the affluent city
state.
Singapore's government owns 78 percent of SingTel, but has
recently said it will consider reducing its stake.
SingTel is interested in bidding for M1 "if the regulator
allows," SingTel spokesman Ivan Tan said. He was referring to the
Infocomm Development Authority, which regulates Singapore's
telecoms industry.
In a statement Saturday, the authority said it would closely
evaluate any telecom company's application to change its
shareholding structure "to ensure that any change will not
unreasonably restrict competition."
M1 shareholders announced Wednesday that were holding talks
which could lead to their stakes being put up for sale.
SingTel would end up with nearly 90 percent of Singapore's 2.6
million mobile phone users if it were to take over M1, the
Business Times newspaper reported Saturday.
M1 has a 31 percent share of Singapore's mobile phone market,
while SingTel has a 58 percent share, the newspaper said, adding
that the country's third mobile phone player, StarHub, has about
11 percent.
If SingTel is allowed to enter the bidding, it will likely be
up against Regional Wireless, a 60-40 joint venture between
Australia's Telstra Corp. (ALS) and Hong Kong's Pacific Century
CyberWorks Ltd. (PCW) The company Friday expressed interest in
bidding for M1.
SingTel has recently been aggressively expanding its
operations in attempt to become a major telecoms player in the
Asia-Pacific region.
The company recently won a bidding battle against two
competitors to purchase Cable & Wireless Optus (A.CWO),
Australia's second biggest phone company. If the deal goes
through, it would be one of the biggest corporate deals in
Australian history and the largest-ever overseas investment by a
Singapore company.
SingTel has recently taken stakes in telecoms firms in several
Asian countries including Thailand, India and the Philippines.