By Joseph Waring
Singtel looked to benefit from growth at AIS, committing to invest SGD330 million (US$237.5 million) to increase its stake in Intouch Holdings, the largest shareholder in the Thai operator.
In a statement, Singtel explained subsidiary Singtel Global Investment boosted its interest in Intouch Holdings from 21.2 per cent to 25 per cent by acquiring about 121 million shares from Temasek’s Anderton Investments.
Singtel group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon stated the increased investment is “part of our strategy of actively recycling capital to invest for growth and shareholder returns”.
Yuen said Intouch had registered “good returns supported by consistently strong execution from AIS in one of the region’s most attractive markets”.
“Our increased investment deepens our partnership with Intouch’s largest shareholder Gulf Energy.”
The transaction is expected to be completed by end-June.
Singtel first invested in AIS in 1999 and is the second largest shareholder in Intouch after Gulf Energy.
