SingTel trims postal stake

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. trimmed its 30.85% stake in Singapore Post Ltd. and said it plans to sell the remaining shares, valued at about S$568 million, or US$338 million. Southeast Asia’s largest telephone company by market capitalization said it had sold 95 million shares in the city-state’s postal company for net proceeds of S$105 million, paring its stake to 25.87%. “The sale is in line with SingTel’s ongoing strategy of divesting noncore business in order to focus on its core telecommunications business,” the company said. The share sale follows a shuffling of senior management last month that was intended to help the company face such challenges as muted growth in Singapore and intense competition in Australia. The company will book a gain on the sale of about S$90 million. SingTel plans to sell the remaining shares to a strategic investor sometime after a six-month lock-up period expires.