Singtel announced that it will purchase $525 million worth of shares in Bharti Airtel, which is 15% of Bharti Airtel’s US$3.5 billion rights issuance.
Singtel and Airtel’s major shareholders Bharti Group and Bharti Telecom, intend to subscribe to their full entitlement except for a renunciation by Bharti Telecom in favour of GIC Singapore which will commit approximately US$700 million.
India is the second largest mobile market in the world, accounting for 15% of the world’s mobile subscriber base. The country is expected to be a major driver of mobile industry growth in the Asia Pacific region, and have over 1.3 billion subscribers by 2025. With its expertise and strong brand, Airtel is favourably positioned to ride this trend. In the last financial quarter, Airtel recorded one of its highest ever quarters of 4G customer growth, adding over 11 million 4G customers.
Airtel, one of India’s leading telecommunications companies, has operations in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa and a mobile customer base of close to 385 million.
Arthur Lang, CEO, Singtel International Group
Airtel has performed well despite business headwinds and is consolidating its position in a more sustainable market. Our partnership with Airtel spans some two decades and we continue to take a long-term view of India, having recently invested in Bharti Telecom and Airtel Africa.
