Singtel pockets S$1 billion after reducing stake in Thailand’s largest energy company

SINGAPORE: Singtel Group has sold a 2.8% stake in Gulf Development, Thailand’s largest energy company, for about S$1 billion, as the telecommunications giant continues to unlock value from its investments under its ongoing capital recycling strategy.

The transaction was carried out through a private placement to institutional investors and is expected to generate cumulative equity gains of approximately S$140 million, Singtel said in a filing with the Singapore Exchange.

Following the sale, Singtel will retain a 4.95% stake in Gulf Development, with the remaining holding valued at around S$1.8 billion.

The stake originated from a corporate restructuring completed in 2025, when Intouch Holdings and Gulf merged to form Gulf Development. Prior to the amalgamation, Intouch had been Gulf’s largest shareholder. As part of the merger, Singtel received a 7.7% stake in the newly formed entity.

The transaction also streamlined Singtel’s investment structure in Thailand. The merger removed Intouch as an intermediary holding company in relation to Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand’s largest mobile operator and one of Singtel’s key regional associates, with Gulf Development becoming the new holding entity.

The latest divestment forms part of Singtel’s broader Singtel28 strategy, a long-term plan launched in 2024 to improve shareholder returns, strengthen the group’s balance sheet and recycle capital from mature assets into new growth opportunities.

Since the launch of the programme, Singtel has unlocked S$6.8 billion through various transactions, placing the company around three-quarters of the way towards its mid-term target of S$9 billion.

A key component of the strategy is the group’s value realisation share buyback programme, through which proceeds from asset monetisation are returned to shareholders.

As of June 22, 2026, Singtel had utilised approximately 34% of its planned S$2 billion buyback programme. The company has purchased and cancelled about 148.8 million shares at a cost of roughly S$681 million.

Founded in 1879 as the Oriental Telephone and Electric Company, Singtel is Singapore’s oldest telecommunications operator and one of the country’s largest listed companies. It was corporatised in 1992 and listed on the Singapore Exchange the following year.

Today, Singtel is the country’s.largest telecommunications provider. Beyond Singapore, the group has built a substantial regional footprint through strategic investments in telecommunications operators across Asia, including AIS in Thailand, Telkomsel in Indonesia, Globe Telecom in the Philippines and Bharti Airtel in India.