SingTel to triple enterprise network in China, India

Mobile social games push

SingTel has partnered Japanese social gaming content and platform provider Gree for a direct carrier billing deal.

This is Gree's first overseas partnership for direct mobile billing.
The deal will also see the companies unite for a series of marketing initiatives, part of which will see SingTel get exclusive game promotions for its mobile customers.
This is the latest push by SingTel into the space, after investing US$1.5 million in TheMobileGamer in September.

This will be an organic expansion largely on two fronts: sales offices and buying infrastructure for point-of-presence (POP), said Bill Chang, CEO of group enterprise at SingTel. He was speaking at a media briefing for the company's second quarter results.

Chang explained this was to meet the increased demand particularly from multinational companies (MNCs). "They are keen to expand into China and India, as well as companies in those markets are looking to venture overseas," he said.

While he declined to name the companies, Chang shared they were mainly from the manufacturing, financial, and payment services sectors.

In the second quarter ended September, SingTel's group enterprise posted revenues of S$1.6 billion (US$1.3 billion), similar to the previous three months. No benchmark for the previous year is available due to the corporate restructuring in April, which saw SingTel move away from a geographical split to one focusing on consumer, enterprise and digital life.

According to Chang, the restructuring has allowed the enterprise division to consolidate resources from different departments--such as units NCS and Optus--to reduce overlap, allowing it to accelerate growth.

Earlier this month, the executive pointed out business intelligence would be a pillar of future growth, driven by the opportunities opened up by trends such as urbanization and "smart" cities.