Singapore Telecommunications has confirmed it has been in talks with two Hong Kong operators, including New World Mobility, to participate in the SAR's third-generation (3G) mobile market.
SingTel is planning to operate 3G mobile networks in six Asian markets outside its home base - Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.
'We have ambitions of becoming the regional leader in the wireless communications world,' SingTel Mobile chief executive Lucas Chow told reporters in Singapore.
'At the end of the day, size is everything.'
SingTel's ambitions pose a challenge to Pacific Century CyberWorks, which this week is to announce a regional mobile joint venture with Australia's Telstra.
Mr Chow said SingTel was keen to build a pan-Asian 3G mobile network through joint ventures with regional telecoms players. This would take the form of either direct investment or mobile virtual network operations (MVNO), where it would buy air time at a discount from existing operators.
