Investor Relations

PROACTIVE AND OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH THE INVESTMENT COMMUNITY

During the financial year ended 31 March 2020, the management and Investor Relations (IR) team engaged more than 500 investors in over 160 meetings and conference calls to discuss the Group’s business strategy and operational and financial performance. We also participated in local and overseas investor conferences and roadshows in Europe, Canada, Malaysia and the US.

A key focus of the year’s investor communications programme was to help investors understand the progress made in the digitalisation of our operations and in growing new revenue streams. Management from our digital marketing, cyber security and payment businesses presented their strategies and initiatives. We also continued to organise tours of our business facilities, including our FutureNow Innovation Centre and the newly launched UNBOXED, Singapore’s first unmanned retail pop-up store.

The annual Singtel Investor Day attracted over 70 participants, who appreciated the opportunity to interact directly with the senior management of Singtel, Optus and our regional associates. Participants also gained first-hand experience of our digital services through demos of our mobile financial services, IoT solutions and customer service bots.

Retail investors are an important part of our outreach efforts. We have been a long-term sponsor of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) (SIAS) Investor Education Programme and the annual Singtel-SIAS dialogue provides a regular platform for us to communicate our strategy and performance with retail shareholders. Retail investors are welcome to contact us directly through email or telephone.

Despite the COVID-19 situation, we have not stopped our active engagement with investors. We continue to maintain contact with them using video and audio conferencing facilities.

MAINTAIN LEAD IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, TRANSPARENCY, AND INVESTOR RELATIONS

We continue to nurture and maintain strong links with sell-side research analysts and are well-covered by more than 20 analysts, based in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and the UK, who issue regular reports. We monitor analyst, industry and media reports closely, as part of our efforts to continuously improve disclosures and IR practices.

Each year, we commission an independent study on investor perceptions of our businesses. The study, comprising in-depth interviews with approximately 70 institutional investors and research analysts, gives our Board and management a better understanding of investors’ views and concerns. It also helps the IR team identify areas of investor focus, enabling us to tailor our communications and disclosures accordingly. The latest study highlighted investors’ concerns over the challenging market conditions in Singapore and Australia although this was partly alleviated by our regional associates’ improved competitive positions in their respective markets. Respondents also paid greater attention to the Group’s capital allocation and balance sheet, which have supported Singtel’s strong dividend payouts.

Good corporate governance also plays a vital role in shaping investor perception of the integrity, transparency, accountability and efficiency of a company. We keep abreast of the latest developments and benchmark ourselves against best practices in key areas such as disclosure, board structure, shareholder rights and remuneration.

We proactively engage investors to understand their views on sustainability and how it influences their investment decisions. We provide disclosures on our sustainability initiatives and help investors understand our material issues, policies and efforts in areas such as the environment and climate change, data protection, supply chain, social matters and human rights. We have endorsed the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ voluntary framework and are working towards meeting its standards.

The Singtel IR website is the primary source of corporate information, financial data and significant business developments for both bond and equity investors. All material announcements are made available on the IR website immediately after they are released to the Singapore Exchange to ensure fair, equal and prompt dissemination of information. In addition, we constantly review the level of disclosure, to align it with global best practices and take into account new business initiatives.

During our earnings announcements, we provide extensive information, including detailed financial statements, management discussion and analyses and presentation slides. Our management responds to questions from investors and analysts over a conference call on the day of the results announcement and a transcript of the conference call is posted on the Singtel IR website the next work day.

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

As at 31 March 2020, Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited remained our largest shareholder, with 53% of issued share capital. Other Singapore shareholders held approximately 12%. In terms of geographical distribution, the US/ Canada and Europe accounted for approximately 11% and 9% of issued shares respectively.