Singtel, Simba owner see positive share price action amid telco shake-up

But StarHub's shares fall; analysts say telco could face headwinds in immediate term

- Benjamin Lim

An unexpected shake-up in the telecoms sector in Singapore this week has put its listed players - Singtel, StarHub, M1 owner Keppel and Simba owner Tuas - firmly in the spotlight.

StarHub and Keppel were the laggards based on share price action. Singapore's largest telco Singtel ended the week higher after an initial fall following the Aug 11 announcement of Simba's acquisition of M1. Simba's parent company Tuas saw a big jump in its share price on the Australian Securities Exchange compared with last week.

StarHub's acquisition of MyRepublic's broadband business announced on Aug 12 was met with lukewarm response from investors. On Aug 14, it posted a poorer financial performance for the first half of 2025 compared with the same period last year.

The telco closed at $1.18 on Aug 15, down 3.28 per cent from last week's close. It reported a 41.7 per cent drop in profit for the first half of 2025, at $47.5 million compared with $82.1 million in the corresponding year-ago period.

Analysts said StarHub could face headwinds in the immediate term after market consolidation.