New Delhi: India’s leading telecom company Bharti Airtel’s shares have fallen almost 3% in early trends on May 16 as SingTel offloaded a part of its stake. The Singapore-based telecom company has been an early backer of Bharti Airtel, owning about 29.5% of the company before this sale. SingTel gained almost US$1.54 billion in profits, as it is looking to optimize its asset portfolio and boost shareholder returns.
The proceeds were sold to domestic mutual funds and international long-term funds. There was a strong interest amongst existing shareholders and institutions to buy the 4.76 crore shares at the floor price of Rs.1,800.
Bharti Airtel has remained an investor’s favourite, with the company reporting a consistently strong performance over the years. In Q4 FY 2025, the company reported a net profit of Rs.11,022 crore, a 432% rise from Rs.2,071 crore in the same quarter last year.
Despite Reliance Jio’s dominance in the domestic market, Bharti Airtel has been aggressively expanding its 5G coverage, both in India and its African operations. The company is also actively boosting the quality of its services, with the addition of 19.9k towers and 44.4kms of fiber optic cable in the current financial year.
SingTel had earlier sold 4.1% of its stake in 2022 and 2024 to help the company support its 5G deployment and digital infrastructure expansion efforts.
“This transaction allows us to crystalise value at an attractive valuation while remaining a significant shareholder of Airtel. We are pleased to welcome new like-minded investors who share our conviction in Airtel’s strong growth potential as India pursues its vision of achieving a US$1 trillion digital economy. This will further strengthen Airtel’s shareholder base so that we can collectively support its long-term growth.”
Arthur Lang, Singtel’s Group Chief Financial Officer, explained in a press note released by the company.
