Singtel picks up pace in journey to the East

Annabeth Leow

Published Tue, Jul 20, 2021 · 05:50 AM

SINGAPORE and Australia have long been core markets for telco group Singtel. But both those markets are also relatively mature. For investors, it might now be worth keeping an eye on a push into mainland China and Hong Kong by Singtel's enterprise services subsidiary NCS.

NCS has identified Singapore, Australia and Greater China as key markets for a strategic transformation announced at the end of last year.

The unit's most recent full-year operating revenue stood at S$2.28 billion for the 12 months to March 31, including revenue earned as a vendor to other entities in the Singtel group.

But most of that turnover came from operations in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Chinese spending on digital transformation could grow by 17 per cent annually and hit US$1.5 trillion by 2024 - according to forecasts from …