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SINGAPORE : SingTel on Tuesday said it is eyeing acquisitions in Asia and the fast-growing markets of Africa and the Middle East.
The comment came as the mobile operator booked a 24 per cent jump in third-quarter earnings, in line with analysts' expectations.
The earnings were boosted by a strengthening Australian dollar and booming markets in India and Indonesia.
SingTel continues to see strong growth in mobile subscriptions regionally. As of December last year, its global mobile users stood at more than 285 million - or some 4 per cent higher than the previous three months.
That helped to boost its third-quarter revenue by 20 per cent, and its net earnings by 24 per cent to S$991 million.
Chua Sock Koong, Group CEO, SingTel, said: "We have got very strong mobile performance both in Singapore and Australia, where we continue to gain market share. So that is a key source of growth for the group.
"From the associates, the very strong turnaround in Telkomsel's performance has contributed to the 20 per cent increase in earnings from the associates."
Revenue in Singapore rose by 1.5 per cent for the October-December period, while revenue from Australia climbed by almost 5 per cent.
SingTel said it has no plans to sell down its Australian Optus unit, despite speculation otherwise.
Overall, profit among its regional affiliates, which accounts for 73 per cent of SingTel's earnings, grew by 21 per cent to S$560 million.
But analysts noted that pricing pressure in markets like the Philippines and Thailand will weigh on its affiliates there. And there are also challenges in the corporate segment.
Foong King Yew, research director, Carrier Ops and Strategies, Gartner, said: "On the enterprise front, there is still a lot of pressure stemming from the economic downturn.
"And we are just coming out of the recession, and there is still a lot of cost containment pressures, so as far as enterprises are concerned, that has put a downward pressure on prices."
SingTel, however, believes that the worst is over for the corporate sector.
On the pay-TV front, SingTel said that it has managed to sign on 29,000 customers for mio-TV in its fiscal third quarter, taking the total to 155,000.
The telco plans to continue looking to Asia for growth, but said that it has also been examining opportunities in adjacent growth markets like Africa.
The counter closed 2.7 per cent higher at S$3.03 on Tuesday. - CNA/sc/ms
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