• Home
  • Politics
  • Health
  • World
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
What's Hot

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

May 8, 2025

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025

Top 10 Benefits Of Acupuncture

May 8, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Friday, May 9
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
  • Home
  • Politics

    Security video shows brazen sexual assault of California woman by homeless man

    October 24, 2023

    Woman makes disturbing discovery after her boyfriend chases away home intruder who stabbed him

    October 24, 2023

    Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly support Israel’s war on Hamas, but younger Americans defend Hamas

    October 24, 2023

    Off-duty pilot charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut off engines midflight on Alaska Airlines

    October 23, 2023

    Leaked audio of Shelia Jackson Lee abusively cursing staffer

    October 22, 2023
  • Health

    Disparities In Cataract Care Are A Sorry Sight

    October 16, 2023

    Vaccine Stocks—Including Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech And Novavax—Slide Amid Plummeting Demand

    October 16, 2023

    Long-term steroid use should be a last resort

    October 16, 2023

    Rite Aid Files For Bankruptcy With More ‘Underperforming Stores’ To Close

    October 16, 2023

    Who’s Still Dying From Complications Related To Covid-19?

    October 16, 2023
  • World

    New York Democrat Dan Goldman Accuses ‘Conservatives in the South’ of Holding Rallies with ‘Swastikas’

    October 13, 2023

    IDF Ret. Major General Describes Rushing to Save Son, Granddaughter During Hamas Invasion

    October 13, 2023

    Black Lives Matter Group Deletes Tweet Showing Support for Hamas 

    October 13, 2023

    AOC Denounces NYC Rally Cheering Hamas Terrorism: ‘Unacceptable’

    October 13, 2023

    L.A. Prosecutors Call Out Soros-Backed Gascón for Silence on Israel

    October 13, 2023
  • Business

    Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

    May 8, 2025

    Electric Vehicle Sales Nosedive As GOP Takes Buzzsaw To Biden’s Mandate

    May 7, 2025

    Tyson Foods Announces It Will Bend The Knee To Trump Admin’s New Rules

    May 7, 2025

    Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rates Steady Despite Pressure From Trump

    May 7, 2025

    ‘Wait Them Out’: John Kennedy Tells Larry Kudlow One Lie He Suspects China’s Telling US

    May 7, 2025
  • Finance

    Ending China’s De Minimis Exception Brings 3 Benefits for Americans

    April 17, 2025

    The Trump Tariff Shock Should Push Indonesia to Reform Its Economy

    April 17, 2025

    Tariff Talks an Opportunity to Reinvigorate the Japan-US Alliance

    April 17, 2025

    How China’s Companies Are Responding to the US Trade War

    April 16, 2025

    The US Flip-flop Over H20 Chip Restrictions 

    April 16, 2025
  • Tech

    Cruz Confronts Zuckerberg on Pointless Warning for Child Porn Searches

    February 2, 2024

    FTX Abandons Plans to Relaunch Crypto Exchange, Commits to Full Repayment of Customers and Creditors

    February 2, 2024

    Elon Musk Proposes Tesla Reincorporates in Texas After Delaware Judge Voids Pay Package

    February 2, 2024

    Tesla’s Elon Musk Tops Disney’s Bob Iger as Most Overrated Chief Executive

    February 2, 2024

    Mark Zuckerberg’s Wealth Grew $84 Billion in 2023 as Pedophiles Target Children on Facebook, Instagram

    February 2, 2024
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
Home»Finance»Why Southeast Asian Telcos Are Taking Losses on Their Overseas Holdings
Finance

Why Southeast Asian Telcos Are Taking Losses on Their Overseas Holdings

June 5, 2024No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Why Southeast Asian Telcos Are Taking Losses on Their Overseas Holdings
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

In the financial year ending March 2024, Singapore’s Singtel posted a net profit of around $589 million at current exchange rates. This is a 64 percent decrease from the previous financial year, when net profit was reported at $1.65 billion. Singtel is majority-owned by Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, and it is a sprawling telecommunications conglomerate with operations spanning the region.

Singtel is interesting because it typifies Singapore’s particular and highly successful style of state-capitalist development. With state support, including a monopoly on the domestic telecommunications market, by the 1990s Singtel had grown into a large company with substantial financial resources. The government ended the monopoly in 2000, but by then Singtel had a sufficiently strong balance sheet to pivot toward international acquisitions and was making inroads into various overseas markets. This is characteristic of many big Singaporean companies, which initially grew rapidly thanks to state support and then began reinvesting their accumulated surpluses abroad.

In addition to being the largest telecom provider in Singapore, Singtel currently owns Australian telco Optus and holds substantial ownership positions in Indonesia’s Telkomsel, the Philippines’ Globe Telecom, Thailand’s AIS, and India’s Airtel. It is a huge cash generator for shareholders, including Temasek. Even though the firm booked a lower net profit in its most recent financial statement, that is mostly a matter of accounting. Cash generated from operations, including dividends received from associates, was still $3.5 billion.

So what happened last year? The main drag on Singtel’s earnings is coming from its overseas holdings. While its associated companies in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand continue to pay steady dividends, Airtel Africa was responsible for a significant fair value loss in 2023. But the biggest hit came from their wholly-owned Australian subsidiary, Optus, which accounted for a one-time non-cash impairment of nearly $1.5 billion. This was partially offset by gains in other areas, but still resulted in a total non-cash impairment for the financial year of just over $1 billion.

See also  Indonesian President Inaugurates Southeast Asia’s First High-speed Railway

Optus has had a rough couple of years. In November 2023 the network suffered a 12-hour outage, causing millions of customers to lose service and prompting a government review. The Australian Tax Office also recently brought, and won, a case against Singtel that reversed almost $600 million in tax deductions from previous years that involved Optus. This is apparently part of a broader push by Australian regulators, which for many years gave telcos a relatively free hand after the industry deregulated in the 1990s, to increase scrutiny on the operations and finances of major telecommunication providers.

Big regional telcos getting burned by their overseas holdings is not unique to Singtel either. Malaysia’s Axiata, which is also majority owned by state-owned investment funds, had a rough 2023. At current exchange rates, Axiata booked a net loss of $525 million last year compared to a net profit of $2.1 billion the previous year. The loss was largely due to Axiata’s decision to exit its holdings in Myanmar. Axiata also took a big loss on its holdings in Nepal, stating that “current conditions of unfair taxation and regulatory uncertainties” made sustaining operations in the country untenable.

It’s easy to forget that telecommunications is a politically sensitive sector, one that is capital and technology-intensive and thus lends itself to natural monopolies. For the last several decades there has been a general impetus toward deregulation in telecoms, and we have seen the rise of big diversified conglomerates. But what we may be seeing now is that increasing geopolitical tensions and economic nationalism are starting to unwind that trend somewhat.

See also  Why Japanese Investment in Southeast Asian LNG is Surging

It would not be surprising in the years ahead to see overseas telecom holdings become less attractive as investments in the face of increased regulatory scrutiny. Nor would it be surprising to see governments push for greater domestic control and ownership of national telecom networks. For many years it was arguably the logic of the market that dictated developments in telecom, but we may be entering a period where geopolitics and nationalism becoming increasingly important considerations.

Asian Holdings Losses overseas Southeast Telcos
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Ending China’s De Minimis Exception Brings 3 Benefits for Americans

April 17, 2025

The Trump Tariff Shock Should Push Indonesia to Reform Its Economy

April 17, 2025

Tariff Talks an Opportunity to Reinvigorate the Japan-US Alliance

April 17, 2025

How China’s Companies Are Responding to the US Trade War

April 16, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Posts

Verizon lifts free cash flow forecast as promotions drive subscriber growth

October 24, 2023

Preparing For A Workplace Wellness Event: Where To Start

June 3, 2023

Seattle-based startup makes ‘beanless coffee’ to help combat deforestation

October 4, 2023

REPORT: Former NE Patriots Star Willie McGinest Faces Serious Jail Time After Being Charged With Two Felonies

March 2, 2023
Don't Miss

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

Business May 8, 2025

President Donald Trump announced Thursday the U.S. has reached a trade agreement with the U.K.,…

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025

Top 10 Benefits Of Acupuncture

May 8, 2025

Electric Vehicle Sales Nosedive As GOP Takes Buzzsaw To Biden’s Mandate

May 7, 2025
About
About

This is your World, Tech, Health, Entertainment and Sports website. We provide the latest breaking news straight from the News industry.

We're social. Connect with us:

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
Categories
  • Business (4,110)
  • Entertainment (4,220)
  • Finance (3,202)
  • Health (1,938)
  • Lifestyle (1,626)
  • Politics (3,084)
  • Sports (4,036)
  • Tech (2,006)
  • Uncategorized (4)
  • World (3,944)
Our Picks

Bridging The Gap In Bone Health

August 5, 2023

Jose Cuervo distiller’s profit dips, hit by North America headwinds

July 28, 2023

Under Biden, Bankruptcies Are Rising For The First Time In Over 13 Years. Here’s Why

September 29, 2023
Popular Posts

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

May 8, 2025

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025

Top 10 Benefits Of Acupuncture

May 8, 2025
© 2025 Patriotnownews.com - All rights reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.