The Group’s mobile customer base in the eight markets – Australia, Bangladesh, India,Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – rose almost 50% from 123.79 million customers a year ago.   Compared to the previous quarter, the increase was 8.0% or a record 13.80 million customers [1].

 

On a proportionate share basis, the increase was 7.6% or 4.64 million from a quarter ago.

 

Robust customer growth from all associates

 

Bharti is the largest regional mobile associate in terms of customers.   For the quarter ended 31 March 2008, it drew a record 6.82 million new customers.  Bharti’s total mobile base of 61.99 million customers was an increase of 67% from a year ago.

 

Telkomsel added 3.45 million mobile customers during the quarter, bringing its total base to 51.34 million.   Compared to a year ago, this represented an increase of 32% in total customers.

 

Maintaining its market leadership, AIS expanded its mobile customer base by 3.6% for the three months to 31 March 2008.   On a year-on-year basis, the Thai operator increased its total base by 19% to 25.09 million mobile customers.

                                                      

In the quarter, Globe Telecom attracted nearly 1 million net new customers.   Its total customer base of 21.27 million as at 31 March 2008 was a 26% increase from a year ago.

 

Warid Telecom in Pakistan and PBTL in Bangladesh also posted positive growth. Warid reported 14.40 million mobile customers as of 31 March 2008, a quarterly increase of 9.0%. PBTL grew its CDMA customer base by 11% during the quarter to reach 1.56 million customers.

Strong postpaid and 3G growth for Optus

 

Optus has another consecutive quarter of strong growth with 135,000 new mobile customers. Postpaid customer growth continued with net additions of 87,000 customers. Growth was driven by increased take up of wireless broadband products and targeted capped plans.

 

For the year ended 31 March 2008, Optus added 400,000 mobile customers - an increase of 5.9 per cent, including 231,000 new postpaid customers.  Optus also grew the number of its 3G customers to 1.4 million, an increase of over 200 per cent from a year ago.

Crossing the 1-million prepaid customer mark for Singtel

 

Singtel added a record 244,000 mobile customers in Singapore this quarter.  This brings its total mobile customer base to 2.57 million as at 31 March 2008.  Compared to a year ago, its base has jumped by 41%.

 

The growth was fuelled by demand in the prepaid mobile segment.   During the quarter, Singtel netted 207,000 prepaid mobile customers. This pushed its prepaid mobile customer base past the 1 million-mark.  It is the market leader with 1.2 million prepaid mobile customers as at 31 March 2008.

 

Singtel also maintained its postpaid leadership with 37,000 postpaid customers added in the quarter, the highest quarterly increase in the past five years. 

 

It grew its 3G customer base to 859,000 as at 31 March 2008.

 

 

 

Details on the performance of the regional mobile associates will be available when Singtel announces its results for the fourth quarter and year ended 31 March 2008 on 14 May 2008.

 

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About Singtel

 

Singtel is a strategic investor in the region’s most successful mobile operations. It has a 21.36% stake in Thailand’s Advanced Info Service (AIS). In India, it has a 30.44% effective interest in Bharti, the country’s largest GSM operator. One of Singtel’s earliest investments in the region is Globe Telecom in the Philippines. Today, it has a 44.47% stake in Globe. Singtel has a 35% stake in Indonesia’s largest mobile operator, Telkomsel.   It also has a 45% equity stake in Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL) and a 30% equity interest in Warid Telecom inPakistan. More information can be found at www.singtel.com and www.optus.com.au.