Singapore – Singtel raised about $1 billion by selling a 2.8 per cent stake in Gulf Development, Thailand’s largest energy company, as it seeks to cash in on investments to fund growth and return more money to shareholders.
The share sale, done through a private placement to institutional investors, will generate about $140 million in cumulative gains, the telecom company said in a statement on June 23. After the transaction, Singtel will hold a 4.95 per cent stake in Gulf Development worth $1.8 billion, it said.
The deal ranks among Thailand’s largest block trades, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
It also brings the amount raised under Singtel’s asset-recycling programme to $6.8 billion since 2024, pushing the company closer to its $9 billion medium-term target.
Funds from the sale will support dividends, share buybacks and spending on digital infrastructure, according to Singtel’s chief financial officer Arthur Lang. “This gives us considerable ability to fund and sustain our value realisation dividend, value realisation share buyback as well as digital infrastructure investments,” he said.
Singtel has deployed about 34 per cent of its planned $2 billion share buyback programme, spending roughly $681 million to repurchase and cancel shares. Recently, the company also proposed an annual dividend of 18.5 cents a share, which would be its highest on record.
In 2025, Singtel received a 7.7 per cent stake in Gulf Development following the merger of Gulf and Intouch Holdings.
Singtel shares fell as much as 1.8 per cent in Singapore trading on June 23, while Gulf shares slipped 1.6 per cent in Bangkok. BLOOMBERG
