SINGTEL'S REGIONAL MOBILE SUBSCRIBER BASE EXCEEDS 32 MILLION

Strong year-on-year growth of 64 per cent

Singapore, 30 January 2003 - Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced that its aggregate mobile subscriber base in the Asia Pacific region has exceeded 32 million.

As at 31 December 2002, the combined mobile subscribers of SingTel (Singapore), SingTel Optus (Australia), Advanced Info Service (Thailand), Bharti Group (India), Globe Telecom (Philippines) and Telkomsel (Indonesia) stood at 32.1 million, an increase of 64 per cent compared to the combined base of 19.6 million a year before.

SingTel's associates in the region continued to record strong growth in customer numbers. On a proportionate basis, SingTel's regional mobile subscriber base as at 31 December 2002 was 13.1 million, a year-on-year increase of 47 per cent*.

*SingTel had a 22.28 per cent stake in Telkomsel as at 31 December 2001. This stake was increased to 35 per cent in July 2002.

Highlights

Singapore

• SingTel's mobile subscriber base increased to 1.56 million as at 31 December 2002.
  This represents an 11 per cent increase from a year ago.
• SingTel saw a three-fold jump in MMS traffic in December 2002 compared to the preceding months. In November last year, Singapore became the first country in the world to have inter-operator MMS.
• SingTel has recently launched an extensive campaign, branded IDEAS, to promote the use of data services and applications on a variety of platforms including its mobile networks.

Australia

• Optus' mobile subscriber base increased by 196,000 subscribers or 4.5 per cent for the quarter to 4.54 million as at 31 December 2002, capturing about 34 per cent of the Australian mobile market.
• This represents a 12 per cent increase in subscribers from a year ago.
• Optus continues to win new corporate and business mobile customers. During the quarter, Optus reinforced its focus on the business sector by creating a new unit to focus on the telecommunications needs of small and medium sized businesses.

Regional markets

The aggregate subscriber base of SingTel's four regional mobile associates* increased to 26 million as at 31 December 2002, an annual growth of 85 per cent.

*Comprising AIS (21.6% stake), Bharti (28.5% stake), Globe (29.1% stake) and Telkomsel (35.0% stake).

India

Bharti enjoyed a 150 per cent year-on-year growth rate and retained its position as India's largest mobile service provider with 2.77 million mobile subscribers, which represent a 27 per cent market share. This was achieved in an extraordinarily competitive marketplace which saw two mobile operators launching and expanding their mobile services in various regions within India.

Bharti has launched Local Direct Dial (LDD) in almost all areas where it offers mobile services. LDD allows Bharti's customers to call roamers who are logged on to Bharti's network without incurring international call charges. SingTel became the first in the world to introduce the innovative LDD service in June 2001.

Indonesia

At the end of December 2002, Telkomsel had 6.01 million customers and is the leader with approximately 52 per cent market share. Its customer base grew by 85 per cent compared to a year ago when it had 3.3 million customers.

Telkomsel's strong growth was the result of a rapid increase in the number of prepaid 'simPATI' customers, which soared to 5 million in December 2002 against 2.4 million a year ago.

Philippines

Globe Telecom registered another quarter of strong growth and remains a very strong player in the Philippine market. Mobile subscribers stood at more than 6.57 million at the end of December 2002, with a year-on-year growth of 43 per cent.

During the quarter under review, Globe introduced a new Hi-Memory SIM which allows its subscribers to store a larger amount of messages and contact details in the SIM card.

Thailand

AIS remains Thailand's largest mobile operator with 10.7 million subscribers as at 31 December 2002. Year-on-year growth was 105 per cent.

AIS maintained a dominant market share of over 60 per cent despite fierce competition in the Thai cellular market which saw the entry of two new operators last year.

In October 2002, AIS successfully raised a 5-year bond amounting to 5 billion Baht.

About SingTel

SingTel is Asia's leading communications company with a comprehensive portfolio of services that include voice and data services over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms. Serving both the corporate and residential markets, SingTel is committed to bringing the best of global communications to its customers in the Asia Pacific and beyond.

SingTel has extensive interests in submarine cable and satellite systems, including its co-owned ST-1 satellite and the pan-Asian C2C cable network. Its infrastructure development strategy is to ensure that its networks remain modern and efficient, and continue to meet the needs of its customers.

The SingTel Group has expanded into overseas markets, with investments in many countries and territories. In Australia, its wholly owned subsidiary SingTel Optus is a leader in integrated communications - serving more than five million customers. The Group's major investments include Advanced Info Service of Thailand, the Bharti Telecom Group of India, Globe Telecom of the Philippines and Telkomsel of Indonesia.

SingTel has been recognised Best Asian Telecom Operator by industry publication, TelecomAsia, for five consecutive years since 1998. The Group's turnover for the year ended 31 March 2002 was S$7.34 billion (US$4.02 billion). More information can be found at www.singtel.com.