(Associated Press via NewsEdge) SingTel said its profit rose 13% in the most recent quarter thanks largely to contributions from its regional units, and also said it was interested in investing in Vietnam.
SingTel, Southeast Asia's biggest phone company in terms of revenue, said net profit for the three months through December rose to S$994 million ($648 million) from S$882 million ($575 million) in the year-earlier period.
'In Singapore, we recorded strong revenue growth in the telco business while extending leadership in the data and Internet market,' said Lee Hsien Yang, the company's outgoing chief executive.
Underlying net profit, which strips out goodwill and exceptional items, was S$850 million ($554 million) in the fiscal third quarter, up 9.6% on year from S$775 million ($505 million).
Operating revenue, which includes only business in Singapore and Australia, rose slightly to S$3.38 billion ($2.2 billion) from S$3.36 billion ($2.19 billion) a year earlier.
SingTel, which has units in India, Indonesia and elsewhere in the region, said it is keen to invest in Vietnam as that nation's market opens up. The Hanoi government has been considering liberalizing the country's telecommunications sector for some time but no decisions have been made.
'Vietnam is in our area of interest,' Chua Sock Koong, SingTel's deputy CEO.
'The timing (of the liberalization) is entirely up to the Vietnamese government,' said Chua, who is due to take over from Lee as chief executive in April.
© 2007 The Associated Press
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