How SingTel came close to investing in Reliance’s telecom venture before picking stake in Airtel

Singapore Telecom ( Singtel), now the largest foreign investor in Bharti Airtel, was keen on doing a deal with Reliance Industries before deciding to pick stake in Sunil Mittal’s venture.

In a new book titled ‘Telecom Man’, authored by B K Syngal, former Chairman, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, and co-authored by Sandipan Deb, the authors detail out the sequence of events which led Singtel to move from Reliance to Airtel.

Syngal, who worked with Reliance in the late 1990s, has written in the book that Singtel was very keen to invest in India and was excited about Reliance’s new telecom venture. “I had known the Singtel people for a long time in my previous avatar at VSNL. Lim Lim Toon was the company’s chief operating officer. He contacted me and said that Singtel would like to be part of Reliance’s grand plans and was willing to invest around $600 million,” Syngal said.