Singtel Sells Part of Its Stake in Bharti Airtel, Gains $1 Billion
Singapore’s telecom company, Singtel, has sold part of its shares in Bharti Airtel, a major telecom company in India and a part of Airtel Africa. Singtel sold about 1.2% of its stake for $1.54 billion (around 2 billion Singapore dollars), earning a profit of $1 billion. After this sale, Airtel’s share price fell by 2.85% by the end of Thursday.
Details of the Share Sale
A Singtel unit named Pastel sold 71 million Airtel shares on Thursday at a price of $21.19 per share. After the sale, Singtel’s ownership in Airtel dropped from 29.5% to 28.3%, with the remaining stake now worth about $37 billion.
This is not the first time Singtel has sold Airtel shares. In March 2024, it sold 0.8% of its stake to GQG Partners, a U.S. company that builds financial software. After that sale, Singtel said it still held 29% of Airtel. These moves are part of Singtel’s ongoing plan, started in 2021, to manage its money better and give more value back to its shareholders.
Singtel’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Arthur Lang, said, “This deal helps us get good value for our investment and shows we’re using our money wisely to benefit our shareholders.”
Long-Term Partnership With Bharti Enterprises
Singtel has been working with Bharti Enterprises, run by Sunil Bharti Mittal, to make both companies hold equal stakes in Airtel in the long term. This could mean more buying or selling of shares, or other strategic moves. The goal is to balance ownership, strengthen their partnership, and make sure both companies are aligned on future goals.
Experts believe that CFO Arthur Lang wants Singtel’s share in Airtel to match that of Bharti Mittal. The recent sale is part of Singtel’s bigger plan to recycle its capital—this means selling some assets to invest in better opportunities.
Singtel’s Telecom Business Overview
Singtel is Singapore’s biggest mobile network provider, with 4.1 million subscribers in the country. Overall, including all its regional companies, Singtel has about 770 million mobile customers (as of March 2022).
In Singapore, it holds a large share of the market:
82% of fixed-line phone services
47% of mobile services
43% of broadband services
Singtel is also the second-largest company in Singapore based on market value. Outside Singapore, it owns many telecom companies, including Optus, the second-biggest telecom in Australia, and has been a major investor in India’s Bharti Airtel for over 20 years.
Background of the Singtel–Airtel Relationship
Back in October 2018, Singtel invested $250 million in Airtel Africa Ltd., helping the company raise a total of $4.4 billion from major global investors like Temasek, Warburg Pincus, and SoftBank. At that time, Singtel had an effective 39.5% stake in the Airtel Group.
The money raised was mainly used to reduce Airtel’s $15 billion debt and grow its business ahead of a planned stock market launch (IPO). Airtel also set up a new board of directors with members from Singtel and other investors.
Arthur Lang said that this investment showed Singtel’s strong belief in Africa’s future growth, thanks to its large, young population. He also praised Airtel’s strategy to grow in areas like mobile internet, mobile money, and smartphone access.
Airtel Africa’s Recent Performance
As of March 31, 2025, Airtel Africa’s total customer base grew by 8.7%, reaching 166.1 million users. This growth was driven by better access to digital services and a 4.3% increase in smartphone use, which now stands at 44.8%.
The company made a strong comeback, earning $328 million in profit, compared to a $89 million loss the previous year. That earlier loss was mainly due to currency and financial issues in Nigeria.
Airtel Africa is also working to improve its services. It has:
Built 2,583 new cell towers
Laid down 3,300 km of fiber-optic cable
These upgrades help provide faster internet and better coverage across Africa. Its mobile money service has now processed $145 billion in transactions, which is 34% more than before. The total number of mobile money users also grew by 17.3%, reaching 44.6 million.
Final Thoughts
Singtel’s decision to sell part of its stake in Airtel is part of a larger plan to manage its investments smartly. It wants to balance its ownership with that of Bharti Enterprises and continue finding the best ways to grow and benefit shareholders.
At the same time, Airtel Africa is growing fast, expanding digital services and increasing profits. This shows that even as Singtel reduces its stake slightly, both companies still see value in their long-term partnership.
