India / Bhārata: Singtel sells minority stake in Bharti Airtel

Singapore's Singtel has sold an 0.8 percent stake in Indian telco Bharti Airtel for S$950 million ($710m) to US-based investment firm GQG Partners, trimming it’s stake in the company from 29.8 percent to 29 percent. The company plans to invest the funds in data centers and IT services.

"Last November, we raised our dividend policy to between 70 percent and 90 percent of underlying net profit and are on track to pay at the upper end of that range this financial year, barring any unforeseen circumstances. We will look at actions to improve total shareholder returns via sustainably growing dividends and share price appreciation. We believe the current share price does not reflect the intrinsic value or growth potential of the group.”

Singtel currently provides 60MW of data center capacity in Singapore and has a portfolio of around 10 data centers across Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong. It sold a 3.3 percent stake in Airtel two years ago worth S$2.54 billion and has been an investor in the Indian telco for more than 20 years.