Singapore ,  25 August 2008 -- Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) today announced that NCS Pte. Ltd. (NCS) has through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Computer Systems Holdings Pte. Ltd. (CSH), acquired approximately a 60 per cent stake in Singapore Computer Systems Limited (SCS).

 

CSH acquired 93,144,501 shares from Green Dot Capital Pte Ltd for S$1.50 per share in SCS for a total consideration of approximately S$140 million in cash.

 

Following the acquisition, CSH will make a mandatory general offer for the remaining shares of SCS for S$1.50 a share in cash.

 

CSH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NCS, which is in turn, 100 per cent-owned by Singtel.

 

Mr Allen Lew, Singtel Singapore Chief Executive Officer, said: “This move is part of Singtel’s strategy to be a significant solutions provider to business customers in the Asia Pacific region. The combined IT capabilities and capacity of SCS and NCS will extend Singtel’s ability to deepen its relationships with its customers in Singapore and overseas.”

 

Mr Lim Eng, NCS Chief Executive Officer, said: “This accelerates the overseas expansion plans of NCS by providing operational scale and an enlarged regional footprint.  The IT services market is a high growth area and the potential for growth is enormous.”

 

Both SCS and NCS are leading information and communications technology solutions service providers with operations in Asia Pacific.

 

CSH is making the mandatory general offer with a view to exercising its rights of compulsory acquisition under Section 215(1) of the Companies Act, Chapter 50 of Singapore, in the event that it becomes entitled to do so, and delisting of SCS from the SGX-ST thereafter.

 

 

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Any inquiries relating to this press release or the Offer should be directed to:

 

ANZ Singapore Limited                      

Bill Foo, Managing Director                      

Glenn Porritt, Executive Director                                      

Loy H Chia, Director                                           

Tel :  6539 6180   
                                               

This press release should be read in conjunction with the full text of the offer announcement dated 22 August 2008 released by ANZ Singapore Limited on behalf of CSH.  Shareholders and holders of options in SCS are advised to read all the documents relating to the offer that are filed with the SGX-ST when they become available.  Copies of documents may be obtained, when available, from the SGX-ST website (www.sgx.com)

 

The directors of CSH and NCS (including any who may have delegated detailed supervision of this press release) have taken all reasonable care to ensure that the facts stated and all opinions expressed in this press release are fair and accurate and that no material facts have been omitted from this press release, and they jointly and severally accept responsibility accordingly. Where any information has been extracted or reproduced from published or otherwise publicly available sources (including, without limitation, in relation to SCS or its subsidiaries) or obtained from Green Dot, the sole responsibility of the directors of CSH and NCS has been to ensure through reasonable enquiries that such information is accurately and correctly extracted from such sources or, as the case may be, accurately reflected or reproduced in this press release.

 

About Singtel

Singtel is Asia's leading communications group with operations and investments around the world. Serving both the corporate and consumer markets, it is committed to bringing the best global communications solutions to customers in the Asia Pacific and beyond. 

 

With significant operations in Singapore and Australia (through wholly-owned subsidiary Singtel Optus), the Group provides a comprehensive portfolio of services that include voice and data over fixed, wireless, Internet and satellite platforms as well as pay TV.

 

To serve the needs of multi-national corporations, Singtel has a network of 37 offices in 19 countries and territories throughout Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. These offices enable Singtel to deliver reliable and quality network solutions to its customers, either on its own or jointly with local partners.

 

The Group also has major investments in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippinesand Thailand. Together with its regional partners, Singtel is Asia’s largest multi-market mobile operator, serving more than 198 million customers in eight markets.

 

Singtel employs more than 20,000 people worldwide and had a turnover of S$14.84 billion (US$10.05 billion) and net profit after tax of S$3.96 billion (US$2.68 billion) for the year ended 31 March 2008.   More information can be found @ www.singtel.com and www.optus.com.au. 

 

About NCS Group

NCS Group is a leading information technology (IT) and communications engineering services provider with more than 5,000 staff located in more than 10 countries across the Asia Pacific andMiddle East regions.

 

NCS has in-depth domain knowledge and unique delivery capabilities which focus on defining, realising and sustaining Business Value for its Customers via the innovative use of technology. 

 

With proven expertise in consulting, development, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure management and solutions, gained while serving government and commercial organisations across the region, NCS delivers end-to-end support for every organisation’s technology needs.