Telco software firm Circles targets listings on Nasdaq, SGX: CEO

Straits Times

5 days ago

Circles.Life co-founder and CEO Rameez Ansar said the IPOs will depend on market conditions and regulators in both countries. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
SINGAPORE – The parent company of local virtual telco pioneer Circles.Life may opt for a listing on the Nasdaq in New York, while the telco itself looks to hold an initial public offering (IPO) on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
Mr Rameez Ansar, who is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Circles, told The Straits Times on May 27 that the IPOs will depend on market conditions and regulators in Singapore and the US.
He noted that the double listings would aim to let Circles.Life and the fast-growing Circles software business focus on how they can each best grow, yet retain the benefits of their shared roots.
Though he was reticent to pin down when the IPOs might occur, Mr Ansar noted the company has a two-year target to reach 'world-class' business metrics to secure sterling share performance.
'We should be (in a position where), if we have to flip a switch and list, we'd have a good starting point in the US business,' he said, adding that the company has already tied up with American telecommunications giant AT&T.
The software business sells and helps deploy a one-stop platform that allows telcos to oversee billing, activate e-SIM cards and provide customer service, among other features.
The software, called Circles X and originally built for Circles.Life, has now been adopted by customers as far afield as Japan, Pakistan and Mexico.
Mr Ansar had just returned from a work trip to the US earlier in May where he had talks with six or so telcos about potential partnerships.
'We have a global software business; it's critical software we make, it's got the right margins, the right revenue growth, so the option is up to us,' he said at the company's new headquarters in Alexandra Terrace.
'I would say that the IPO is a primary strategy right now, but it is also something that gives the business focus.'
He declined to reveal specific numbers for the privately held company, but said annual revenue for the software business has crossed the US$100 million (S$129 million) mark, with a growth rate at well above 30 per cent a year and gross margins of over 70 per cent.
The software business also has an order book in excess of US$100 million, Mr Ansar added, noting that the unit grew larger than Circles.Life around a year ago.
The company's backers include private equity giant Warburg Pincus and EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore's Economic Development Board.
Mr Ansar did not entirely rule out another round of private equity fund raising as an alternative to the two listings, nor divesting Circles.Life to fund the software unit's growth plans.
However, divestment is not on the cards at this point, despite a November 2024 report from financial news outlet Bloomberg that Circles was weighing up a sale.
Mr Ansar said customers have approached Circles on the basis that its software was used to build a viable digital telco – Circles.Life – from scratch.
The experience has let Circles understand what telcos need, underscoring how interlinked both brands are, he said.
'I think (the way) people still look at us is like: 'Wow, you guys are a real operator. You're not coming in telling me how the world works as a vendor.''
Still, he conceded there was a possibility for the Circles.Life story to become less relevant to the software business if it gains a much larger customer base on the basis of the platform's brand.
The organisational restructuring to allow the listings occurred in 2024, with the delineation of three units: Circles the software provider; Circles.Life; and travel eSIM business Jetpac.
But an SGX listing would allow Circles.Life to stand and grow on its own merits, including expanding the digital telco beyond Singapore under its own financial muscle, rather than that of the software business, he added.
Circles.Life could even, in time, pay licence fees to Circles for the use of Circles X in this scenario.
Circles.Life, which was launched in 2016, currently operates only in Singapore, though Circles has been operating digital telcos for some overseas customers who do not want to run these digital telcos themselves.
Mr Ansar also said each of Circles' individual business lines, as well as the group as a whole, has broken even.
He said the idea of listing on the SGX was spurred by the Government's push to revitalise the local bourse.
The equities market review group proposed giving corporate income tax rebates for new listings, a recommendation the Government accepted earlier in 2025.
Mainboard-listed telcos Singtel and StarHub have posted strong earnings in recent months, albeit on the back of business from enterprises such as data centres and smart city connectivity.
Mr Ansar also said the cut-throat price competition in Singapore's consumer telecoms market has led to underinvestment in infrastructure, innovation and providing customers with a better experience.
'Your telco service is being given to you at a price that is one-fourth the price of a cocktail you can buy in that country. It's not about... accessibility, affordability. This is not the question here any more. The question is: What is the trade-off you've made?'
For its part, Circles.Life has been trying to provide fresh offerings to customers, such as free, unlimited use of OpenAI's GPT-4.1 generative artificial intelligence model for mobile subscribers.
Mr Ansar added that contrary to the past, when infrastructure and consumer-facing parts of a telco business had to be integrated to operate efficiently, it is now more efficient for telco infrastructure and consumer businesses to be separated.
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