SingTel: Regional Mobile Users 65 Million End-March; Up 37%

SINGAPORE -(Dow Jones)- Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (T48.SG) Tuesday said its mobile subscribers across Asia-Pacific were up 37% on year as of March 31, as more customers signed up for its mobile services in emerging markets.

This helped offset slower growth in the mature markets in Singapore and Australia.

SingTel had 65 million mobile customers in six Asian countries as of March 31, up from 47 million a year ago, it said.

SingTel is largest mobile operator in Southeast Asia, and has major mobile operations in Singapore, Australia, Thailand, India, the Philippines and Indonesia.

SingTel defended its leadership position in its home market of Singapore, with about 1.6 million mobile subscribers.

SingTel said that in the three-month period, it added 20,000 new mobile customers in Singapore, where nine out of 10 people own a mobile phone.

The mobile subscriber base for its four Asian associates - Thailand's Advanced Info Service PCL (ADVANC.TH), India's Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. (532454.BY), the Philippines' Globe Telecom Inc. (GLO.PH) and Indonesia's PT Telekomunikasi Selular - grew 42% to 57 million, SingTel said.

Year-on-year growth for the associates ranged from 12% to 69%, it added.

SingTel Optus, which holds a third of Australia's mobile market, saw a subscriber growth 6.7% to 5.9 million.

The company didn't elaborate on reasons for the growth.

-By Jessica Tan, Dow Jones Newswires; 65/6415-4155;

jessica.tan@dowjones.com

-Edited by Leslie Shaffer

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 3rd May 2005