Latest news with #ArthurLang
Independent Singapore
23-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Singtel launches first share buyback programme of up to S$2B after fivefold rise in net profit
Justin Ng/Flickr SINGAPORE: Singtel has launched its first share buyback programme of up to S$2 billion, shortly after posting a fivefold increase in net profit to S$4.02 billion for FY 2025, Singapore Business Review reported. The group said the programme is part of its active capital management strategy to drive sustained growth and value for shareholders. 'Funding for the share buybacks will be underpinned by excess capital from the Group's asset recycling proceeds,' the group stated in a press release on Thursday (May 22). In May last year, the group set a mid-term asset recycling target of S$6 billion as part of its Singtel28 growth plan, which it is now raising to S$9 billion. Singtel's value realisation share buyback is its latest capital management initiative after it updated its dividend policy in May last year to include a value realisation dividend on top of its core dividend to return excess capital to shareholders. Its share buyback programme will be administered per Singtel's Share Purchase Mandate, allowing the group to buy back up to 5% of its total issued shares, excluding treasury shares and subsidiary holdings, with approval from shareholders at each annual general meeting. Singtel Group CFO Arthur Lang said, 'Building on the Group's proven track record in asset recycling, and the opportunities we are seeing, we are increasing our medium-term capital recycling target to S$9 billion to further fund business growth and return excess capital to our shareholders.' /TISG Read also: SIA staff to receive 7.45-month bonus for FY2025 after record net profit of S$2.78B
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
16-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Singtel sells 1.2% stake in Bharti Airtel for $1.54 bn via block deal
Singtel on Friday sold Bharti Airtel shares worth $1.5 billion (₹12,750 crore) through a scheduled block deal that saw its stake in the telco reduce by 1.2 per cent. Offloading 71 million Airtel shares at ₹1,814 apiece, Singtel will now hold 28.3 per cent stake in Airtel, down from 29.5 per cent earlier. Executed through its wholly owned subsidiary Pastel, the sale was oversubscribed. The transaction was priced at a 2.85 per cent discount to Airtel's closing stock price on Thursday. In an exchange filing, the Singapore-headquartered telecom operator said the sale was part of its active capital management approach to optimise its asset portfolio and drive shareholder returns sustainably. It added that it has been working with Bharti Enterprises to equalise its effective stake in Airtel in the medium term. 'This transaction allows us to crystallise value at an attractive valuation while remaining a significant shareholder of Airtel," said Arthur Lang, group chief financial officer of Singtel. Singtel is a significant shareholder in Airtel, holding a direct 8.3 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel through its affiliate Pastel Ltd. But cumulatively, it has a higher stake due to an indirect interest in Airtel through its 49.44 per cent stake in Bharti Telecom Ltd (BTL), the primary promoter entity of Airtel. BTL itself owns 40.47 per cent of Airtel while the (Sunil) Mittal family holds a 2.47 per cent direct stake through another promoter entity Indian Continent Investment Ltd (ICIL). Bharti Airtel shares closed at ₹1,814.35 per share on the BSE on Friday, 2.8 per cent lower than the previous close. Friday's sale was the first major change in stake for Singtel since March last year when it had sold 0.8 per cent stake (49 million shares) in Airtel to US investment management company GQG Partners for $711 million. SBI Pension, SBI Life, and ICICI Prudential were among major domestic buyers. Before this, Pastel had divested 1.59 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel for ₹7,261 crore through an open market transaction in November, 2022. This came three months after Singtel sold 3.3 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel to BTL for ₹12,895 crore, or $1.6 billion, in August 2022.
Business Recorder
16-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Singtel sells 1.2% stake in India's Bharti Airtel for $1.54 billion
Singapore Telecommunications said on Friday it had sold around 1.2% of its stake in India's Bharti Airtel for S$2 billion ($1.54 billion), netting an estimated gain of S$1.4 billion. Pastel, a unit of Singtel, sold 71 million shares in Airtel at 1,814 rupees apiece, reflecting a 2.85% discount to the closing price of Airtel's stock on Thursday. Singtel, which has been an investor in Airtel for over 20 years, said its stake would drop to 28.3%, valued at around S$48 billion, from 29.5% previously. Singtel has been selling shares in Airtel – a 3.3% stake to Bharti Telecom in 2022 and 0.8% to GQG Partners in March 2024. However, after the sale to GQG, the last one it reported, Singtel had said it had a 29% stake in Airtel. Since a 'strategic reset' in 2021, the Singapore-based firm has sought to effectively use its capital and also improve shareholder returns. 'This transaction allows us to crystalise value at an attractive valuation and underscores Singtel's commitment to disciplined capital allocation and sustained value realisation for shareholders,' CFO Arthur Lang said in a statement. Singtel also said it has been working with Bharti Enterprises – an Indian conglomerate run by Sunil Bharti Mittal and whose telecom arm is Airtel – 'to equalise its effective stake in Airtel in the medium term'. While Singtel did not specify that it was looking to match Mittal's stake in Airtel, Lang had, in 2023, said this was the target. Airtel signs with SpaceX to bring Starlink to India Singtel and Airtel did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment. CLSA analyst Daxin Lin estimates Mittal's stake in Airtel to be about 23%. The sale was in line with Singtel's capital recycling plan and should not come as a surprise, given the aim to match Mittal's stake, Lin said in a note after media reports broke the news of the sale on Thursday. Singtel's shares were up 1.1% at S$3.79 in Singapore, while Airtel's shares were down 2.8% at 1816.3 rupees in Mumbai.
Business Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Singtel sells 1.2% direct stake in India's Bharti Airtel for S$2 billion
[SINGAPORE] Telecommunications service provider Singtel has sold around 1.2 per cent of its direct stake in regional associate Bharti Airtel for S$2 billion. This is part of its active capital management approach to optimise its asset portfolio and drive shareholder returns sustainably, the group said in a bourse filing on Friday (May 16). Singtel has sold 71 million shares of Airtel at 1,814 rupees a share, through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Pastel. The price reflects a 2.9 per cent discount to the closing price of Airtel's shares on Thursday. After the completion of the sale, Singtel's effective stake in Airtel will decrease from 29.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent, which is valued at around S$48 billion, and generate an estimated gain of S$1.4 billion. The transaction was executed through a private placement to international and Indian institutional investors, including existing shareholders of Airtel. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'The private placement received strong interest from existing shareholders and new investors and was well oversubscribed, resulting in both an increase in transaction size, as well as tighter final pricing than initial guidance,' the group added. The majority of the transaction was sold to domestic mutual funds and international long-only funds. Arthur Lang, Singtel's group chief financial officer, said: 'This transaction allows us to crystallise value at an attractive valuation while remaining a significant shareholder of Airtel.' He added: 'This is a key tenet of our Singtel28 growth plan, where we've identified active capital management and the financial flexibility it brings, as integral to funding growth initiatives while supporting capital returns.' It was previously reported that Singtel was expected to sell shares worth US$1 billion, corresponding to around 47.6 million Airtel shares at a floor price of 1,800 rupees a share, which is a 3.6 per cent discount to the stock's last close. This is not the first time Singtel has sold a portion of its stake in Airtel. In 2022 and 2024, it raised a total of around S$3.5 billion from the progressive sale of Airtel shares. It helped to support the group's 5G deployment, digital infrastructure expansion and sustainable shareholder distribution. As at 1.09 pm on Friday, shares of Singtel were up 1.6 per cent or S$0.06 at S$3.80.
Reuters
07-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
SingTel secures $476 million green loan to develop data centre
Feb 7 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) ( opens new tab said on Friday that it had secured a S$643 million ($476.16 million) green loan to finance the development of a new 58 megawatt (MW) data centre in the city-state. Lenders DBS Group ( opens new tab, OCBC ( opens new tab, Standard Chartered (STAN.L), opens new tab, HSBC (HSBA.L), opens new tab, and United Overseas Bank ( opens new tab have financed the five-year loan, SingTel said in a statement. Green loans, used to finance the development of sustainable projects, underscore the urgent need for data centre operators to reconcile their climate goals with the explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. "This loan will enable us to support Singapore's digital economy while reducing our carbon footprint in keeping with our net zero goals," Arthur Lang, SingTel's group chief financial officer, said in the statement. The DC Tuas data centre, expected to be operational in 2026, will provide a high-density environment suited for AI workloads. SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest telecoms provider, secured, opens new tab a S$535 million green loan in December 2023 to refinance its debt and develop two other data centres in the city-state. ($1 = 1.3504 Singapore dollars)
