Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Singapore - New broadband services have boosted the shares of the two principal state-owned operators

[today online] Shares of StarHub and M1 propelled higher yesterday buoyed by optimism following the launch of fibre-based broadband services on Tuesday.

StarHub gained 2.03 per cent to close at $2.51 - its highest level since September 2008.

Analysts were bullish on StarHub's prospects when Singapore's high-speed Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network comes into full play, citing its potential to capture the corporate market that has been dominated by SingTel.

Japan-based brokerage firm Daiwa upgraded StarHub to Outperform and raised its target price to $2.65 from $2.17. StarHub will unveil its suite of new broadband services today.

M1 shares raced higher, up 1.84 per cent to $2.21. DBS Group Research said M1 is the only telco to gain from the rollout of the network and expects M1's share price to benefit as the market becomes confident in its execution.

Meanwhile, SingTel shares were unchanged at $3.08 a day after it announced a slew of high-speed broadband packages for consumers and businesses.

Analysts at Nomura noted that SingTel's offerings were about 15 per cent to 25 per cent higher compared to existing digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable plans. Millet Enriquez

StarHub, M1 shares up on broadband optimism

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