Singtel reorganises structure to capture new digital growth

SINGTEL has reorganised its structure to capture new digital growth, with the changes set to take effect from Jan 1, 2021.

Key to this is the creation of a 5G enterprise portfolio under the telco's group enterprise division dedicated to driving 5G enterprise business across the region, it said in a bourse filing on Thursday.

From April 1, 2021, Singtel's international business, which manages the telco's strategic telecom investments portfolio, will be brought under the group chief financial officer (CFO) office.

Arthur Lang, chief executive of Singtel's international business, will take on the group CFO role, which will include the management of the international group and regional associates.

Singtel's group strategy and business development unit will be combined with the group digital life division to become the strategic portfolio unit. Group digital life chief executive officer (CEO) Samba Natarajan will lead this unit.

The portfolio will now include strategic planning and business restructuring, on top of overseeing Singtel's digital marketing arm Amobee and the group's corporate venture fund Innov8.

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Current group CFO Lim Cheng Cheng will become group chief corporate officer, while her predecessor Jeann Low will be retiring alongside Allen Lew, group strategy and business development CEO. Both Ms Low and Mr Lew will take on advisory roles after retiring from end-April 2021.

Meanwhile, Singtel's ICT (information and communications technology) arm NCS will report directly to the group CEO to accelerate its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region, with a special focus on Australia and China.

Group CEO-designate Yuen Kuan Moon said NCS has reached scale, having delivered positive revenue growth for seven years running.

The greater autonomy will help NCS maximise its potential by expanding its footprint beyond Singapore to build a strategic presence in the major markets for digital transformation.

"This is part of our longer-term plan to create more value for the group by turning NCS into a leading regional B2B (business-to-business) digital services company," he added.

NCS CEO Ng Kuo Pin and Anna Yip, deputy CEO of Singtel's consumer Singapore division, will join the group's management committee from Jan 1, 2021.

Mr Yuen said: "Our renewed management structure will help shape and support our business agenda as we strive to prioritise businesses where we can be relevant in the longer term and grow sustainably."

Singtel shares were trading flat at S$2.32 as at 9.35am on Thursday.