As part of the bid to juggle competing needs to fund new growth and pay higher dividends to its shareholders, Singtel is well underway on its comprehensive capital recycling programme. In March, Singtel took advantage of the recent surge in Airtel’s shares and sold around $1 billion worth of Airtel shares to US fund manager GQG Partners at the prevailing market price, with no discount necessary.
For more than two decades, Singapore Telecommunications (SGX:Z74
) (Singtel) has grown the value of its investments in various regional associates. Yet, that value has not translated into any significant improvements in its share price.
The growth is so subdued that the value of Singtel’s 29% stake in India-listed Bharti Airtel is comparable to its own market cap. This means everything else from Singtel’s domestic businesses, Australia unit Optus, and stakes in Telkomsel, AIS and Globe are ignored. “There’s something wrong, am I right?” says Singtel CFO Arthur Lang in an interview with The Edge Singapore.
