New challenges for Singapore telecom

Telecommunications is acquiring strategic importance for economic growth and development As economic activity expands to a global scale, its dependence on the flow of information also increases This is also evident from the tremendous growth in the telecommunications industry. In l995, the global market generated US$74l billion A further growth of7-8 per cent is expected for 1996. Several driving forces are responsible for this phenomenon- the regulatory changes which resulted in enhanced competition, the increasing globalization of markets, the impact of new technologies and lastly, the convergence of telecommunications, computing, consumer electronics and the media. Asia Pacific is a good example of a region that has experienced this telecommunications revolution. Most countries in this region are now at some stage of restructuring their telecommunications sector. With a low penetration rate of 4 per cent coupled with opening up of the markets, these have created opportunities for interested investors. The objective of this research is to explore the business opportunities that are available to Singapore Telecom ( ST ) in this region. China, Vietnam and Thailand have been selected as areas of focus. These countries are currently liberalising their telecommunications industries Given the backwardness of their telecommunications infrastructure, there are tremendous opportunities for Singapore Telecom to transfer its expertise into these countries The issue as to how ST can position itself is further discussed in the following chapters. In Chapter 1, an overview of the telecommunications industry in the Asia- Pacific region is given. It highlights the changes taking place as well as the potential growth in this industry In Chapter 2, a review of Singapore Telecom's performance is presented The chapter also discusses the future investment plans to be adopted by ST This will be followed in Chapter 3 by a critical analysis of the telecommunications sector in the three countries mentioned above . Chapter 4 evaluates the investment opportunities as well as the risks that are posed to ST in these three countries qualitatively and quantitatively Finally, the concluding Chapter summarises the research findings and outlines the limitations of the research.ACCOUNTANC