M1: Finding new purpose supporting Keppel's urbanisation plans

Singapore Telecommunications was not the first local telco to see restructuring. In September 2018, Keppel Corporation (Keppel Corp) and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) — founding shareholders of M1 — offered to privatise the telco, which was then facing a saturated market shared in three almost equal parts among Singtel, StarHub and itself.

All three operators were commanding comfortable margins but the industry dynamics were poised to change as the government allowed a fourth mobile operator to come in.

Made through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) Konnectivity, which is jointly owned by Keppel Corp and SPH, the bid to acquire M1 was meant to gain majority control and then “help drive business changes in M1 and enable it to compete more effectively in the telecommunications industry”.

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