Singtel confirms Optus stake talks, says deal not certain

Telco remains open to an Australian minority partner.

Singtel has confirmed it is in discussions with interested parties regarding a potential stake sale in Australian telecommunications unit Optus, but said there is no certainty that a transaction will take place.

The company issued the clarification on 30 July following media reports about a potential transaction.

“Singtel will make an announcement if and when there are any material developments that warrant disclosure,” it added.

The telco disclosed in May that it was exploring the sale of a minority stake in Optus, as its net profit for the six months ended 31 March declined 21% to $2.20b from $2.79b a year earlier.

Separately, the group disclosed that Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon’s total remuneration declined 16.9% to $6.8m for FY2026, from $8.2m in the previous year.

The board said it had considered the Optus Triple Zero incident and network outages at Singtel Singapore when determining his remuneration.

The incident involved a network failure on 18 September 2025 that prevented customers in parts of Australia from reaching emergency services through Triple Zero for almost 14 hours following a firewall upgrade.

Singtel reiterated that it is open to bringing in an Australian minority partner whose objectives align with keeping Optus as a strong alternative telecommunications operator and provider of critical services in the country.