Singtel
SingTel traces its heritage back to 1879 when Singapore became one of the first cities in the East to have telephone service, three years after Alexander Graham Bell patented his invention. At that time, a Mr. Bennet Pell started a private telephone exchange which had 50 lines.
Until the mid-1950s, telephone services in Singapore were managed by British interests. In 1955, the Singapore Telephone Board (STB) was incorporated as a statutory board with exclusive rights to operate telephone service within Singapore. This was followed by the merger of STB and Telecommunications Authority of Singapore (TAS) in 1974. Up until that time, STB was responsible for local services, while TAS provided international services. 1982 saw the merger of the Postal Department with Telecoms.
In 1988, a subsidiary, Singapore Telecom International, was formed. This marked the beginning of SingTel’s expansion into overseas markets. The corporatization of SingTel in 1992 was followed by its Initial Public Offering a year later. It remains Singapore’s largest ever IPO.
The Singapore telecoms market was fully liberalized in April 2000. Despite the competitive environment, SingTel continues to maintain its leadership position in the Singapore market. SingTel operates slightly under 2 million direct exchange lines, which translates to one line for every two persons in Singapore. As at 31 March 2006, SingTel is also the leading mobile operator in Singapore with a 43%market share for postpaid, and leads the broadband Internet market with a 53% market share.
In the last couple of years, SingTel has significantly transformed its business. In 2001, SingTel concluded its largest overseas investment ever, with the acquisition of Optus - the second largest telecommunications provider in Australia. It also invested in Telkomsel in Indonesia, the Bharti Group in India, Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd and increased its stake in Globe Telecom...
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