Ooredoo, the Qatar-owned phone carrier, is considering selling its indirect stake in Singapore’s StarHub Ltd, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company is working with HSBC Holdings to gauge potential interest in its stake in Asia Mobile Holdings, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private. Ooredoo owns about 25% of Asia Mobile Holdings, which in turn holds 55.8% of StarHub, according to the Singapore-based company’s annual report.
Ooredoo, with operations in Southeast Asia spanning Indonesia to Myanmar, wants to sell the asset to focus on its core Middle East market and on faster-growing markets, two of the people said.
Singapore is planning an auction of additional frequencies this year to enable the entry of a fourth mobile carrier, with the introduction of competition aimed at boosting innovation in the city-state.
A representative for StarHub said in an e-mail it is unable to comment on its shareholder’s behalf, while confirming Ooredoo has about a 14% stake via its 25% ownership of Asia Mobile Holdings.
Officials from Singapore Technologies Telemedia, which owns 75% of Asia Mobile Holdings, and HSBC declined to comment. Ooredoo didn’t immediately respond to queries. ST Telemedia is a unit of Temasek Holdings, Singapore’s state-owned investment company.
Ooredoo invested in Asia Mobile Holdings in 2007. Ooredoo also owns 65% of PT Indosat in Indonesia, Bloomberg-compiled data show, and started mobile phone service in Myanmar in 2014.
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