In its latest annual report published on July 7, Singtel chairman Lee Theng Kiat and group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon have recognised that the Covid-19 pandemic has provided tailwinds of digitalisation that the telco intends to exploit.
“The pandemic has pushed things over the technology tipping point, amplifying trends that are redefining the basis for success for our industry. Customers have embraced self-service customer care, digital-enabled sales interactions have surged, and business processes have moved irrevocably online. We believe that this is a unique opportunity to restructure for recovery and growth and have embarked on a strategic reset to sharpen the group’s focus and improve shareholder value,” says Lee and Yuen in their joint message to shareholders.
This comes on the back of Singtel announcing its plans for a strategic reset on May 27, as what analysts have been calling a “clean slate” for the group to move ahead in the current FY2022. This was also announced alongside a lacklustre FY2021 ended March earnings which fell 49% y-o-y to $544 million, as well as $1.2 billion in impairment.