Shares of Singtel and StarHub fell on August 11, 2025 after Keppel agreed to sell M1, Singapore’s third-largest telco, to rival Simba Telcom for S$1.4 billion (US$1.03 billion).

Singtel dropped 1.3% to S$3.90 (US$2.9), while StarHub slipped 4.9% to S$1.16 (US$0.86) by midday.

Keppel suspended trading of its shares before the market opened, and Tuas Limited, Simba’s Australia-listed parent, also halted trading in Australia.

Keppel will receive nearly S$1 billion (US$740 million) in cash for its 83.9% stake in M1 but expects an accounting loss of S$222 million (US$164 million) on the deal.

🔗 Source: The Straits Times

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Telecom consolidation follows predictable patterns across markets and time

Singapore’s telecom market reflects consolidation trends seen globally over decades.

In the UK’s cable industry during the 1990s, analysts predicted the number of operators would shrink from 15 to 6 within a year due to competitive pressures1. The Singapore market today faces comparable dynamics, with intense competition among four facility-based operators and seven mobile virtual network operators driving prices as low as $8 for 200-300 gigabytes of data2.

This aggressive pricing environment has already impacted profitability, with mobile service revenue in Singapore declining by 5.3% in 2018 and major incumbent Singtel seeing its EBITDA fall by 7% year-on-year2.

The current M1-Simba deal represents the natural progression analysts have anticipated, as smaller players seek scale advantages while larger operators struggle to maintain margins in oversaturated markets.

2️⃣ Simba’s rapid subscriber growth validates disruptive pricing strategies

Simba’s rise demonstrates how aggressive pricing can quickly capture market share even against established incumbents.

The company launched in 2020 with a $10 plan offering 50GB of data and has achieved consistent net subscriber additions exceeding 100,000 every six months, reaching over 1 million subscribers by the end of 20243. This growth trajectory—from 487,000 subscribers in 2022 to over 1 million by 2024—illustrates how price-sensitive Singapore’s telecom market has become4.

Simba maintained strong customer retention despite the market’s competitive intensity, achieving a 2.4 win-to-loss ratio against competitors5.

The acquisition of M1’s existing infrastructure and customer base for S$1.43 billion positions Simba to potentially offer even more competitive pricing through operational synergies, which explains why investors drove down StarHub and Singtel shares on concerns about intensified competition.

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