As profit soars, SingTel goes shopping in India and China

SingTel, Southeast Asia’s largest mobile carrier, is looking to potentially acquire non-phone businesses in China and India, in a move away from slow-growth markets in Singapore and Australia, reported Bloomberg.

In a statement released last week, the phone company mentioned that it may raise its stakes in its Asian and African associaties, as well as make other “strategic investments”. The company also reported a 30 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit, at S$1.29B (US$1B), in the three months preceding 21st March.

The Singapore-based mobile carrier plans to grow investments in emerging markets for its digital services division. At this stage, SingTel needs to find new ways to monetize as the traditional carrier business begins to lose its dominance, said an analyst.

“When we look at acquiring the technology know how in the start up space, we could be looking at quite a few different places,” SingTel CEO Chua Sock Koong said at a press conference. These include the Silicon Valley, California or countries such as India and China, she added.

The mobile carrier recently purchased AdJitsu, a Silicon Valley-based 3D mobile advertising business unit of Cooliris. The acquisition was made through Amobee, a US-based digital advertising company that was itself bought by SingTel for US$321M.

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