SMRT drops telco venture bid

Singapore

TRAIN operator SMRT has backed out of a bid to venture into the telecommunications industry after facing a wave of criticism over whether it might be distracted from its core business of providing public transport.

It said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Friday that it has decided not to subscribe for shares in OMGtel, a subsidiary of wireless systems integrator Consistel that had been set up in October 2014 for the purpose of bidding for Singapore's fourth telco licence.