The Business Times
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Singapore telco price war squeezes earnings, strengthens case for StarHub-M1 deal, say analysts

They say that consolidation has to be among the mobile network operators, not just the virtual operators

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Young Zhan Heng

Young Zhan Heng

Published Thu, Aug 20, 2026 · 08:00 AM
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    • StarHub’s H1 Ebitda – excluding Ensign, a cybersecurity joint venture with Temasek – fell 23.8% for the period ended Jun 30.
    • StarHub’s H1 Ebitda – excluding Ensign, a cybersecurity joint venture with Temasek – fell 23.8% for the period ended Jun 30. PHOTO: BT FILES

    [SINGAPORE] Weakening local mobile-service revenue and mounting earnings pressure at StarHub and Singtel Singapore are strengthening the case for consolidation in the intensely competitive domestic market, said analysts.

    For the incumbent telco operators to improve on their mobile service revenue, an industry consolidation is needed, said Chris Muckensturm, analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

    “Absent meaningful industry rationalisation, we see limited scope for a sustained recovery in the incumbents’ mobile service revenue growth,” she told The Business Times.

    StarHubSingtelM1TPG TelecomM&AKeppel

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