Latest news with #Singtel
Business Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
SingPost directors quizzed about future strategies and CEO at AGM
[SINGAPORE] National postal service provider Singapore Post's (SingPost) board was pressed by shareholders at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday (Jul 23) for more information about the path forward as its search for a new chief executive officer drags on. Meanwhile, chairman Simon Israel, at his last SingPost AGM before stepping down, disclosed that the decision of divesting SingPost Centre, the flagship headquarters building in Paya Lebar, now lies with the reconstituted board, which will review whether the property is non-core to the group and is to be sold. He and other directors were quizzed at the listed firm's 33rd AGM held at Suntec Singapore about the reset strategy that shareholders have been looking forward to since they approved the divestment of the Australian logistics business Freight Management Holdings for A$1 billion (about S$845 million) in March. They were also queried about the CEO who would replace the dismissed predecessor and be tasked with executing the reset strategy. Group CEO Vincent Phang was fired together with group chief financial officer Vincent Yik and CEO of international business unit Li Yu in December 2024 over the alleged mishandling of a whistle-blower's report. The questions from shareholders came as the presentation at the AGM left them none the wiser about SingPost's plans or strategies to replace the divested Australian logistics business, which had been a core business and key financial contributor. This caused a shareholder to express his displeasure that the reconstituted seven-member board, including incoming chairman Teo Swee Lian, does not have an idea as yet about the path forward, despite the board renewal and the passage of time. 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 'We came here with a lot of expectation... I feel very disappointed... We already know the current situation, but what's next? What kind of CEO are you looking for to run whatever remains in SingPost? 'You tell us to be patient. We have been patient all this while. Today is an important day; I thought you should have at least given us some guidance that (would signal) there is hope for SingPost.' This shareholder also asked the recently appointed non-executive, non-independent director Gan Siok Hoon – deputy group chief corporate officer of Singtel – to share the views of the telecommunications company, considering it is SingPost's major shareholder. Israel pointed out that Gan is not the spokesperson for Singtel. Questions over a new CEO Another shareholder also asked the board about the kind of CEO it is looking for, and suggested that a new helmsman be appointed only when the board has a clear strategy. 'Because your strategy is still in a little bit of a flux, you may hire a CEO and end up with the CEO (having) nothing much to run… Should you be a bit cautious in terms of hiring the CEO at this point, or should you continue to run with an interim CEO (until the board has) more certainty? Because I also think the kind of CEO you need also depends on the strategy that you think the company should pursue.' Teo asked for patience and the opportunity for her board to do a review as these are 'not easy issues'. Also, she flagged that there will be a conversation with 'very important stakeholders' on what to do. She added: 'I do not know of any high-performing organisation that wants to continue the situation without the CEO. I think that's not best practice, really. So we do have to search for a CEO. We're very fortunate, we have the candidates… We will, in due course, identify who the person will be.' The CEO must have leadership quality, think out of the box with a free hand, and be enterprising, Teo elaborated. 'We're looking for people who can actually take a company which is not in the best situation, and still find what can be done in order to get a pathway for ourselves to be sustainable in the long term.' A shareholder suggested that SingPost take the privatisation route and liquidate its assets, including SingPost Centre, and return capital to shareholders. But Israel replied that privatisation is not within the board's scope of work and that it requires an external actor. Regarding SingPost Centre The outgoing chairman also told shareholders that the SingPost Centre would be 'the last big piece' to unlock value, after SingPost sold its Australian logistics business in March and its freight-forwarding business this week, as well as the earlier sale-and-leaseback bid of 10 HDB shophouses for S$50 million. SingPost Centre was defined as 'non-core' following a strategic review in 2023-2024, because the board did not think SingPost was a property company, Israel said. The directors have not decided on the timing of the divestment even though the property, last valued at about S$1 billion, has since been earmarked for sale. Israel pointed out that the board has never set out a timeline for the sale of this asset. He added: 'Now that brings us to today's circumstances... It's quite clear that the short-term earnings of SingPost, while it works its way through its strategy and what the future holds and which options it's going to pursue, are underwritten by the property business. 'So it really will be for the board in the future to define whether that remains non-core, it becomes core, or whatever the options are around that property.' The business contributed a full-year operating profit of S$48.4 million – more than any other segment, and higher than the total group operating profit of S$44.3 million after accounting for operating losses in some segments. All 13 resolutions were approved at the AGM that lasted more than 1.5 hours, including for a special dividend of S$0.09 per share to be paid out of the sale proceeds of the Australian logistics business. The counter closed 2.3 per cent or S$0.015 up at S$0.655 on Wednesday.
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Stocks to watch: Singtel, CapitaLand Investment, GHY Culture, Dasin Retail Trust
[SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Tuesday (Jul 22): Singtel : Its wholly owned subsidiary Singtel Optus on Monday priced S$160 million in fixed-rate notes due Jul 25, 2035, at 2.726 per cent. The notes, guaranteed by Optus and certain subsidiaries, will be issued on Jul 25 under Optus Finance's three billion euro (S$4.5 billion) medium-term note programme. Singtel shares closed 0.5 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$4.15, before the announcement. CapitaLand Investment (CLI) : Its subsidiary, Bursa Malaysia-listed CapitaLand Malaysia Trust, posted a distribution per unit of 1.18 sen for the second quarter ended Jun 30, 2025, up 0.9 per cent from the year-ago period. This came as it saw positive rental reversions and income contribution from a logistics property, its manager said in a Monday evening bourse filing. CLI shares ended Monday 0.7 per cent or S$0.02 higher at S$2.77. GHY Culture & Media : The company on Monday announced its tie-up with leading Chinese online entertainment service provider iQiyi to produce two short-form dramas. The collaboration aligns with GHY's business strategies and growth plans to create more monetisation opportunities, said the company, adding that it will further diversify its portfolio of entertainment products and distribution channels. The counter closed flat at S$0.161, before the announcement. Dasin Retail Trust : Trading in its units has been suspended on the Singapore Exchange as the business trust is unable to comply with listing rules requiring the timely release of its financial results and the holding of annual general meetings, said the trustee-manager on Monday. This comes as the management team of Dasin Retail Trust's China units has stopped providing key financial documents required for the preparation of the group's annual financial statements since the third quarter of 2023. Units of Dasin Retail Trust closed flat at S$0.02, after the announcement. Trading halt: Aoxin Q&M Dental called for a trading halt on Tuesday morning pending the release of an announcement. The counter closed on Monday 8 per cent or S$0.004 lower at S$0.046.
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Singtel unit prices S$160 million in fixed-rate notes at 2.726%
[SINGAPORE] Singtel Optus, a wholly owned subsidiary of the telecommunications giant, on Monday (Jul 21) priced S$160 million in fixed-rate notes due Jul 25, 2035, at 2.726 per cent. They will be issued under Optus Finance's Euro Medium Term Note programme, which has a size of three billion euros (S$4.5 billion). The notes, which are guaranteed by Optus and certain subsidiaries, will be issued on Jul 25. 'The issue is part of the long-term financing strategy and extends the debt maturity profile of Singtel and its subsidiaries,' Singtel said in a bourse filing. Net proceeds will be swapped for Australian dollars and used to fund Optus' regular business operations. OCBC has been appointed as the sole lead manager and bookrunner for the issuance. Shares of Singtel closed 0.5 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$4.15 on Monday, before the announcement.
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
SIA, Singtel and more: Singapore's top AI adopters could drive 3% GDP growth, says Morgan Stanley
[SINGAPORE] The Republic can sustain a 3 per cent gross domestic product growth rate, thanks to innovation and productivity gains from artificial intelligence (AI) tools, according to research from Morgan Stanley. That growth rate would mean Singapore would remain as one of the fastest-growing developed economies in the world. The country, which has a population of 6.04 million, had most economists forecasting a growth rate of 0 to 2 per cent after the second-quarter GDP was higher than expected. It previously had an official forecast downgraded to 0 to 2 per cent for 2025 from a range of 1 to 3 per cent. It had 4.4 per cent GDP growth in 2024 and 4.2 per cent year-on-year growth in the first half of 2025. The city-state is one of the top AI markets globally relative to its size, aided by an AI-development friendly ecosystem built by the government. It is ranked in the top 10 across multiple indices, such as the Stanford Global AI Vibrancy Index. Based on Morgan Stanley's survey results, published on Thursday (Jul 17), over 70 per cent of companies have adopted AI. Top use cases found were labour savings, product development and supply-chain efficiencies. 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 Singapore is home to more than 80 active AI research faculties, 150 AI research and development and product teams, and over 1,000 AI startups, said the report. The country has attracted 'strong' industry participation in generative AI (GenAI), especially in 2025. Salesforce pledged a US$1 billion investment across the next five years in an AI push, with its flagship AI offering Agentforce able to help quickly expand Singapore's labour force amid its ageing population and birth-rate struggles. Meanwhile, Oracle launched an AI Centre of Excellence, aiming to provide training to upskill students and professionals in cloud-based and AI technologies and experimentation for organisations to test early AI innovations. Which companies are major enablers of AI, and which are adopting the technology? Here's what Morgan Stanley says. Enablers and adopters: Singtel, Grab and more Singtel was identified as a top AI enabler, through its infrastructure push. The telecommunications company has been expanding its data centre capacity in Singapore and the construction of Nvidia's accelerated AI factories in South-east Asia. Morgan Stanley estimates an excess of 200 megawatts of operational capacity by 2026. Asset manager and operator Keppel is set to be one of the key beneficiaries due to its experience in 'integrated solutions providing power, connectivity, data centres and decarbonisation for customers'. Sembcorp Industries is also set to enjoy gains through its power and natural gas provision, and is 'leveraging this opportunity to compound earnings' and top-quartile returns on equity. Morgan Stanley estimates higher energy prices, owing to high demand for European gas, will lead to higher profits for Sembcorp. In terms of AI adopters, Grab was flagged as a significant driver of technological innovation in the Asean region, including Singapore. The company has over 1,000 AI models and launched a centre for AI excellence in May. It also has been a key enabler for autonomous vehicle adoption. Morgan Stanley stated that Grab's lead in AI adoption will 'ultimately drive more efficient and profitable growth while strengthening its market leadership in the region'. Sea, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and ST Engineering were also named as 'significant drivers' of technological innovation, particularly in the AI space. Sea has adopted AI for consumer-facing and internal uses, boosting gross merchandise value by improving recommendation accuracy and improving purchase conversion rates. It was deemed a 'top pick' in the Asian e-commerce sector. Flag carrier SIA has been using GenAI for operational efficiency improvements. It implemented Jarvis, a GenAI tool to improve staff productivity, and a GenAI-powered training tool. In March, it announced a collaboration with Salesforce for AI-powered customer-facing applications, and to develop AI solutions for airlines at a Singapore research hub. Finally, ST Engineering is adopting AI to drive growth and is expected to more than double its digital business revenue to S$1.3 billion by the end of 2029, from about S$600 million in 2024. It is developing AI infrastructure and projects for defence, commercial aerospace and smart-city purposes.
Independent Singapore
3 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
AI could help Singapore sustain 3% annual GDP growth despite ageing population: Morgan Stanley
Photo: Freepik/frimufilms SINGAPORE: Artificial intelligence (AI) could help Singapore maintain annual GDP growth of 3% over the long term, even as it faces the structural challenge of a shrinking workforce, according to a new report by Morgan Stanley Research. Released this month, the report points to AI as a pivotal force for sustaining national productivity and ensuring Singapore remains one of the fastest-growing developed economies. 'Singapore's deliberate and coordinated approach to AI is beginning to bear fruit,' the report said, noting that more than 70% of companies covered in the study have already implemented AI technologies in some form. AI adoption is strongest in four main areas: internal productivity tools, customer-facing services, supply chain optimisation, and product development. These technologies, the report suggests, are helping firms automate repetitive tasks, improve customer experience, and make better, data-driven decisions. The report categorises companies into two broad groups. First are the 'AI Enablers' or firms like Singtel, Keppel, and Sembcorp Industries which are building the infrastructure necessary for widespread AI deployment, such as next-generation data centres, energy systems, and high-speed connectivity networks. The other group are the 'AI Adopters' such as Grab, Sea Group, Singapore Airlines, and ST Engineering, which are applying AI to sharpen operations and drive innovation. While most companies surveyed remain cautious about attaching hard numbers to the financial returns of AI investment, some reported early signs of growth in earnings and capital expenditure. Despite this, the report flagged several risks on the horizon such as cybersecurity, AI misuse, and workforce disruption. 'The need to retrain and upskill workers will be essential,' the report read, highlighting government programmes like SkillsFuture that aim to bridge emerging skill gaps. Morgan Stanley also described Singapore's approach as a potential model for other small, advanced economies navigating similar demographic and technological shifts. 'Singapore shows how strategic planning and cross-sector commitment can enable a country to integrate emerging technologies and turn structural challenges into growth opportunities,' the report noted. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
