SingTel on shopping spree in ASEAN
Singapore’s largest telecoms provider, SingTel, said it will set aside $1.6 billion over the next three years for startup acquisitions in Southeast Asia, preferably in the digital media space.
The company has restructured its business last year and divided itself into three pillars called Consumer, ICT and Digital Life.
The first two focus on consumer and enterprise segments, respectively, but the Digital Life arm is most representative of the change. The division was set up as a reaction to over-the-top competition from third party content providers, and SingTel said Digital Life was going to compete head on, providing smart TV, digital magazines and local content.
Some of acquisitions SingTel so far did include restaurant review sites, Hungrygowhere and Eatability, and photo app Pixable.
SingTel has also set up a venture capital division called Innov8 to specifically look at acquisitions that would boost its current role in the telecoms arena. Innov8 was set up with an initial fund size of $160 million and has since acquired firms like mobile ad company Amobee and raised funds for startups like mobile ad exchange Nexage and Chinese game publisher Yodo.
SingTel runs telecoms operations throughout the region. It has significant stakes in other carriers like Globe in the Philippines (44 per cent), Bharti in India (32 per cent) and Telkomsel in Indonesia (35 per cent). Altogether, its operations in the region cover about 400 million mobile subscribers.
Singapore’s largest telecoms provider, SingTel, said it will set aside $1.6 billion over the next three years for startup acquisitions in Southeast Asia, preferably in the digital media space. The company has restructured its business last year and divided itself into three pillars called Consumer, ICT and Digital Life. The first two focus on consumer and enterprise segments, respectively, but the Digital Life arm is most representative of the change. The division was set up as a reaction to over-the-top competition from third party content providers, and SingTel said Digital Life was going to compete head on, providing smart TV,...
Singapore’s largest telecoms provider, SingTel, said it will set aside $1.6 billion over the next three years for startup acquisitions in Southeast Asia, preferably in the digital media space.
The company has restructured its business last year and divided itself into three pillars called Consumer, ICT and Digital Life.
The first two focus on consumer and enterprise segments, respectively, but the Digital Life arm is most representative of the change. The division was set up as a reaction to over-the-top competition from third party content providers, and SingTel said Digital Life was going to compete head on, providing smart TV, digital magazines and local content.
Some of acquisitions SingTel so far did include restaurant review sites, Hungrygowhere and Eatability, and photo app Pixable.
SingTel has also set up a venture capital division called Innov8 to specifically look at acquisitions that would boost its current role in the telecoms arena. Innov8 was set up with an initial fund size of $160 million and has since acquired firms like mobile ad company Amobee and raised funds for startups like mobile ad exchange Nexage and Chinese game publisher Yodo.
SingTel runs telecoms operations throughout the region. It has significant stakes in other carriers like Globe in the Philippines (44 per cent), Bharti in India (32 per cent) and Telkomsel in Indonesia (35 per cent). Altogether, its operations in the region cover about 400 million mobile subscribers.
