Singtel’s decade of missteps reveals a deeper problem

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If the world is your oyster, how much room would you give yourself for experimentation?

In the past decade, telco giant Singtel had ventured into uncharted territory – only to lose out to bigger players in later years. Its mobile wallet Dash is one example: Despite launching two years ahead of GrabPay, it has failed to capture a larger share of the market in Singapore. Meanwhile, Singtel’s now-defunct video-streaming platform Hooq fizzled out faster than Netflix could say “stream.” Clearly, acting on foresight doesn’t always translate to success.

Today we look at:

• Singtel’s multiple misfirings in recent years
• The platform that wants to simplify equity management for Singapore startups
• Other newsy highlights such as Taobao Taiwan’s troubles and Tata Group’s race to join India’s retail payments network

Why Singtel continues to flounder despite casting its nets wide

Singtel is no stranger to innovation, but its efforts have wound up making more misses than hits. Last month, we took an in-depth look at the telco giant’s successes and failures in reinventing itself; today, we hone in on the factors that contributed to its many failed bets.

• Going big and bold: In the past decade, one of Singtel’s big and bold moves included acquiring both small and large companies internationally and locally. It even launched its own corporate innovation unit Innov8. Unfortunately, Singtel’s upper hand in decision-making meant that “innovation, oddly, was [a] top-down [process],” a former Hooq employee notes. In March, the telecom company liquidated its video-streaming platform Hooq after suffering losses of US$62.5 million in its 2019 fiscal year.
• No room for trial and error: While startups have the luxury of improving on an unrefined product after its launch, Singtel could not afford to do the same. Like any large corporation, the company has stringent approval processes in place to avoid costly mistakes – which, considering everything that has happened, is quite ironic.
• Talent retention troubles: Singtel had no shortage of talent within the company, according to a former division head: Past employees include Aaron Tan, CEO of car marketplace Carro, and Anthony Chow, founder of at-home automation startup Igloohome. But even with the right people in the team, it’s clear that Singtel’s corporate DNA doesn’t fit the formula for digital disruption.

Read more: Why many of Singtel’s digital bets failed after a decade of trying
Read part one: A history of Singtel’s successes and failures in reinventing itself

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