Singtel least likely to be affected by fourth telco: UOB Kay Hian analyst

Singapore

IN THE event that a fourth telco operator emerges in Singapore, after the spectrum bidding planned early next year, Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) could be the least affected among the three incumbents on account of the fact that a large portion of its revenue comes from outside Singapore, according to an analysis done by UOB Kay Hian analyst Jonathan Koh.

In one of the first detailed reports on the likely impact of a new telecom operator entering the Singapore market, Mr Koh notes that it is likely that the net profit of M1 and StarHub would decline by 32 per cent and 25.8 per cent respectively in 2019, two years after the entry of the fourth mobile operator which is expected to start commercial operations by April 2017. Singtel will be less affected with a projected decline in fiscal 2019 net profit of 2.2 per cent.