Singapore Stocks-Down on losses in telcos, 3,000 support eyed

Reuters - Tuesday, September 7Send IM Story Print


* Index down 0.32 pct, seen in 3,000-3,042 range afternoon

* SingTel, StarHub and M1 drop on fears of new competition

* SingTel falls ahead of announcement on new Australia govt

By Charmian Kok

SINGAPORE, Sept 7 - Singapore shares dropped 0.32 percent, weighed by losses in telcom operators after a newspaper reported the government may allow a fourth mobile phone operator in the city-state.

By the midday break the Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> was down 9.73 points at 3,024.85. More than 131.8 million shares had changed hands.

"Singapore shares are likely to trade sideways later this afternoon, as there's little movement in U.S. futures so far. As the U.S. was on holiday yesterday, the STI is mainly taking its cues from Japan, which is down," said Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research.

The benchmark index is likely to trade with a downward bias in the 3,000-3,042 band, traders said.

Shares of Singapore's three telcom operators fell on Tuesday after the Business Times reported Singapore will auction another third-generation spectrum in November, paving the way for a fourth mobile phone operator. [ID:nSGE68601F]

Singapore Telecommunications was also hit by uncertainty ahead of the announcement of Australia's new government, which is expected later Tuesday.

SingTel shares fell 1.6 percent to S$3.06 with 10.5 million shares changing hands, StarHub dropped 2.8 percent, while M1 declined 1.3 percent.

"If the opposition party wins, this may be bad news for SingTel, as the new government may not spend as much on broadband infrastructure in Australia," said a local trader.

Australia's conservative opposition said last month it would scrap the current government's plan to build a high-speed broadband network if it won, which could have negative implications for SingTel's Australian unit Optus. [ID:nSGE67901G]

Singapore-listed casino operator Genting Hong Kong fell 3.4 percent to S$0.425 as investors pared holdings in the firm after its shares surged 47 percent over the last two trading sessions. [ID:nSGE68603U]

Singapore Stocks-SingTel lifts index; upside seen at 2950 pts

Reuters - Tuesday, August 24Send IM Story Print


* Index up 0.6 percent, seen in 2900-2950 range near term
* SingTel rose 2 percent by midday

By Charmian Kok
SINGAPORE, Aug 24 - Singapore shares rose 0.61 percent on Tuesday, outperforming regional bourses like Hong Kong, as the benchmark index got a boost from Southeast Asia's largest telcom firm Singapore Telecommunications .

By the midday break the Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> was up 17.91 points at 2,943.90. More than 129.3 million shares had changed hands.

SingTel's shares rose 2 percent to S$3.00 as investors shrugged off previous concerns that a potential weakness in the Australian dollar resulting from Australia's political stalemate will hit its bottom line.

"There could be some bargain hunting going on as investors recover from yesterday's knee-jerk reaction to news of Australia's hung parliament. The actual impact on SingTel's bottomline isn't so great," said Carey Wong, an investment analyst at OCBC Investment Research.

SingTel's Australian subsidiary, SingTel Optus, accounted for about 19 percent of its bottom line for the fiscal year ended March 31, although it made up 64 percent of its revenue.

Shipbuilders like Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Cosco Corporation outperformed the broader index, as Cosco secured new contracts and Yangzijiang said it would buy a site in China that can be used to expand its yard. [ID:nSGE67N01B]

Shares of Yangzijiang rose as much as 2.6 percent on Tuesday to S$1.55, while Cosco rose 1.9 percent to S$1.58.

"I expect the STI to continue trading in a tight range (of 2,900-2,950) for the next two weeks. The problem is the earnings season has ended and there's no major economic data we expect in the coming week," said Tey Tze Ming, a market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets.

SingTel appoints Hui as CEO of International Business

Written by Bloomberg


Monday, 23 August 2010 19:32

Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia’s largest phone operator, appointed Hui Weng Cheong as chief executive officer of international operations to replace Lim Chuan Poh, who is retiring.

SingTel down 0.3%; Likely rangebound near-term: Deutsche

Written by The Edge


Wednesday, 18 August 2010 12:25

SingTel (Z74.SG) unable to build on initial gains, down 0.3% at $2.93 vs +0.7% at $2.96 earlier, says Dow Jones.

Stock has been slipping since reaching $3.17 high earlier this month, with bland June-quarter results, cautious guidance reported last week further sapping interest.

Having drifted in $2.90-$3.20 band for more than a year, “we see little reason for SingTel to break out of this range on a sustained basis either to the upside or downside,” says Deutsche Bank, which has Hold call with $3.26 target.

Macquarie, which has Neutral call with $3.16 target, says telco’s associates will continue to be key overhang on stock given rising competitive pressure, while Singapore’s upcoming high-speed national broadband network could erode SingTel’s market share in corporate data space.

DBS tips Singapore telco competition to stay tame

Written by The Edge


Wednesday, 18 August 2010 15:57

Contrary to popular opinion, competition in Singapore’s telecom sector may not heat up in 2H10, says DBS Vickers, according to Dow Jones.

DBS Vickers doesn’t expect SingTel (Z74.SG) to pursue market share in Singapore mobile segment to offset potential weakness in its associates.

“SingTel is likely to focus on FY11 Singapore earnings by not over-engaging in handset subsidies,” says the broker.

Singtel - Nomura

Action


Singapore and Optus reported solid 1Q FY11 results, while Associates were
relatively disappointing again. Total revenue was up 12% y-y, but EBITDA rose
only 1% largely due to a 15% drop in Associates’ contribution. Singapore outlook
remains strong, while there could be some concerns for Optus as Telstra is looking
to increase its variable costs significantly to regain share this year. At the same
time, we think operating trends at Bharti and Telkomsel could improve over the
balance of the year; hence, we still like SingTel for its diversified earnings. BUY.

􀁡Catalysts

Improved operational trends at Bharti, further traction in Singapore and Australia,
and capital management are potential catalysts.

Anchor themes

Volatility due to rising competition in regional markets could persist, but SingTel’s
associates have strong market positions, balance sheets and earnings outlook.

SingTel Q1 net profit flat; lower than expected - Reuters

SINGAPORE

Wed Aug 11, 2010 6:36pm EDT

SINGAPORE Aug 12 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) (STEL.SI), Southeast Asia's largest telcom firm, reported flat first quarter profit on Thursday, lower than market expectations of a four percent rise.

Operating conditions in Singtel's two core markets -- Singapore and Australia -- have improved thanks to an economic rebound. But a weak performance at Indonesia Telkomsel, in which SingTel owns a 35 percent stake, and other associates limited overall earnings growth.

SingTel, the most valuable firm on the Singapore stock market, earned S$943 million ($693 million) in underlying April-June net profit, versus S$945 million a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast an average net profit of S$982 million.

SingTel's revenue climbed 12 percent to S$4.3 billion.

Facing a domestic market of just 5 million people where virtually everyone has a mobile phone, SingTel has bought stakes in mobile operators in high-growth Asian countries such as India, Indonesia and in the bigger Australian market to boost profits.

Shares in SingTel, which is 55 percent owned by state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL], have fallen by 2 percent so far this year, underperforming the broader Singapore market .FTSTI which is up around 2 percent. (Reporting by Harry Suhartono, editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)

SingTel - OCBC Investment Research(Morning Call)

SingTel: 1Q11 Results Mostly In Line


SingTel released its 1Q11 results this morning, with revenue up 11.5% YoY;

but it fell 4.1% QoQ and was also about 3.8% below our estimate, mainly

hit by seasonally lower IT and Engineering revenue from NCS and a weaker

AUD QoQ. Net profit eased 0.2% YoY to S$943.2m; however, it fell 7.1%

QoQ, again due mainly to seasonal factors and lower associate contributions

(down 17.8% YoY and 6.9% QoQ); but it was just 1.6% shy of our forecast,

as overall EBITDA margin was relatively steady at 29.3%, versus 29.9% in

both 1Q10 and 4Q10. Going forward, SingTel maintains its previous guidance

for the rest of FY11, although it continues to caution that its consolidated

operating revenue and operational EBITDA will be impacted by AUD

movements and the earnings contributions from its regional associates will

be affected by regional forex movements as well. We will be listening in to

the analyst briefing later and will have more updates. Until then, we place

our BUY rating and S$3.40 fair value under review. (Carey Wong)