Strategic Management Analysis of SingTel Company in Singapore

This report provides a strategic management analysis of SingTel, a major telecommunications company in Singapore. It includes an external environmental investigation using PESTEL and Porter's Five Forces models to assess the factors impacting SingTel's operations. The analysis identifies key challenges and opportunities within the Singaporean market. Strategic recommendations, based on Porter's Generic Forces, suggest that SingTel should adopt differentiation and cost leadership strategies to enhance its competitive advantage. The report further emphasizes the importance of adapting to changing technological landscapes and customer demands to maintain profitability and market share. The company needs to focus on product development and innovation to meet the evolving needs of the customers.

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Executive Summary
The report has thrown light on analysing the overall strategic management analysis of
SingTel Company situated in Singapore. The external environmental investigation of the
company with the help of the PESTEL and Porter's Forces Model analysis has been
conducted that helped in managing the different aspects which will improve the overall
situation in which the company is operating in the present scenario. The strategic
recommendations are being provided wherein Porter's Generic Forces approach have been
considered which helped in understanding that the differentiation and cost leadership
approach can be adopted by the company to become more competitive.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Overview of Singtel Telecommunications.............................................................................3
External Environment Analysis.................................................................................................3
PESTEL Analysis...................................................................................................................3
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of SingTel Company..............................................................6
Strategic Recommendations for SingTel...................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Overview of Singtel Telecommunications
Singapore Telecommunications Limited is one of the Singaporean
Telecommunication Organizations which is the largest mobile network operator in Singapore
with more than 4.1 billion subscribers (Singtel.com., 2019). The company was established in
1879 by Chua Sock Koong wherein the areas served by the company are Asia, Australia and
Africa. The revenue which has been earned by the company is $12.322 billion USD, and the
number of employees working at Singtel is 25000 till the year 2017. It is a public listed
organization, and the headquarter of the company is situated at 31 Exeter Rd, Singapore
239732.
The operating income of the organisation is USD 3.685 billion till the year 2017
which has been massive profitability of the organization appropriately. Additionally, the
company Singtel has more than 140 years of experience in operating, and they have played a
vital role in the development of the country as one of the primary communications hubs.
SingTel is the largest listed Singapore organizations on Singapore Exchange by the
capitalization of the market. Moreover, the group has the broad type of network of the offices
in the Asia Pacific, USA and Europe in which the consumer operations mainly focus on
setting new benchmarks in gaining positive customer experience (Bettis et al., 2016).
External Environment Analysis
PESTEL Analysis
The PESTEL model will be evolving in the Singapore market to understand the
different types of influences along with demands that will assist the company to sustain the
business appropriately.

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Political Aspects- The laws of Singapore restrict the tariffs which are set by the
telecom industry, and it has affected the SingTel company as well. The entire
telecommunication industry inclusive of SingTel has entered the phase which has been driven
by the fast-changing technology, and it has been stimulated by the different demands of the
sophisticated users in an increasing manner (Sbr.com.sg, 2019).
The liberalization along with competition offers the viable approach as this helps in
ensuring that the company provides the customers with the quality services at highly
competitive pricing. In Singapore market, the policy of liberalizing is increasing the choice of
the different customers which is stimulating efficiencies in the use of the resources which are
scarce.
Economic Aspects- The economic situation is the other factor which affects the
SingTel Business directly. The globalization aspect has jumped the different national
boundaries which have opened along with increased business and trade which is the
opportunity for the company. Therefore, the use of telecommunications services and devices
has doubled in a global manner, and the trend has been expected to continue which will
improve the growth of the company (Santandertrade.com., 2019).
In the recent news, it can be seen that government of Singapore has invested in a
massive manner in diversifying the overall economy appropriately wherein the business
sector will be creating the excellent type of environment to motivate along with support in
establishing the financial and legal business framework.
Socio-Cultural Aspects- The Singapore culture strongly believes in traditional values.
However, the young generation in Singapore economy has tried to adopt the western culture
such as with the different ethnic groups namely Chinese, Indians, Eurasians and Malays
(Singtel.com, 2019). Additionally, it has been noticed that in Singaporean culture there is fear

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of losing out to others, this is the primary reason wherein the majority of the young
generation are working hard as to pursue the modern and new technology which has helped
them in expecting high income in the Singaporean economy.
The young generation in the Singaporean economy is changing their trends in lifestyle
along with the purchasing behavior which helps in representing the opportunity for the
SingTel in increasing their overall revenues by offering new along with customized products
and services (Bromiley et al., 2015).
Technological Aspects- There are different new services such as Internet Telephone
which has increased the number of customers in the telecommunication department. This is
the primary reason for developing new technologies in the development of products and
services (Singtel.com, 2019). In the current scenario, SingTel covers the telephone line,
intranet along with e-commerce activities; however, SingTel has identified the e-commerce
along with internet-based services which are significant for generating growth with the
customer segments.
Environmental Aspects- There is a change in climate along with global warming
which has affected the services and products of telecommunication companies in Singapore
market as to reach the customers. Regarding the employment, there has been technological
advancement; the employees need to change as per the same as the previous versions have
become redundant and the customers expect better to be delivered from the
telecommunication industry which will be better for the overall growth of the company
appropriately (Environment – Singtel, 2019).
Legal Factors- Singapore is one of the most advanced information and
telecommunication industry networks in the world with high levels of success. SingTel was
eventually the monopoly on ICT field until the overall market opened up with the other

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companies and this affected the legal rules and regulations of the company positively. In
such a scenario, it has been noticed that Singapore telecommunication industry few
constitutional provisions in Indonesia and it makes the investment easier than in any other
country.
Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of SingTel Company
With the help of Porter's Five Forces analysis, the analysis of the different
competitors can be analysed and identified by examining the threat from the new entrants,
rivalry among the existing competitors and other competing factors which will affect the
competitors in the industry. The different five forces have a direct impact on the strategic
competitiveness of SingTel along with the average returns of the company.
Bargaining Power of the Consumers- It is medium as there is a lack of
differentiation among the other service providers such as Starhub. There is a moderate level
of competition in the market which is resulting in the absence of brand loyalty among the
customers in the Singapore market (Frynas & Mellahi, 2015). The active type of buyer power
helps in reducing the cost prices in the industry, and therefore, SingTel can make a
reasonable profit in comparison to the other competitors in the market (Rothaermel, 2015). In
the present scenario, this has been noticed that buyers are demanding a lot as there are
different packages of the calls and messages which is required to be managed by SingTel by
increasing different discounts and offers.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers- The suppliers of SingTel have high bargaining
power as the company competes and operates in the market with higher margins in
comparison to the other competitors such as Starhub (Lasserre, 2017). As the telecom leader
in the competitive business environment, the share of the market is large which can be helpful
for them in absorbing the different increments in price from the various suppliers more than

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the other competitors. In a particular manner, SingTel can maintain the low prices from the
suppliers, and this will help them in making profits continually as well.
Threats from Different New Entrants- The threat from the young companies in the
telecom market is less as there are different barriers to entry. The various organizations are
wishing to enter the Singapore market. However, there are different kinds of different
licencing fees along with the availability of spectrum along with related regulatory issues
which are attached to the telecom industry, and this can affect their position in the industry in
comparison to SingTel (Jenkins & Williamson, 2015). The costs related to the setting of the
infrastructure of the network is high, and the rapidly changing environment and technology
can make it difficult for the different new entrants to cope. On the other hand, SingTel can
deal with the same by maintaining the high level of efficiency of the various services to the
unrivalled heights (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2015).
The threat from Different Substitutes- There is a high level of threat from the
different substitute companies which are present in the market which affects their overall
effectiveness while providing the goods and services. The CDMA services are declining at a
fast pace and the different functions such as Skype, and Yahoo Messenger are getting
common which can affect the growth of SingTel due to the emerging type of services which
are being adopted by the different competitors. On the other hand, SingTel does not need to
pass the different costs which attribute towards the attribution of substitution to the
consumers (Meyer, Neck & Meeks, 2015).
Industry Rivalry- There is high rivalry among the different competitors of SingTel in
Singapore market as the other competitors have adopted the lowest prices for call rate and
this is affecting the overall profitability of the company negatively (Hitt & Duane Ireland,
2017). Furthermore, the different competitors such as Starhub telecom industry provide the

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different innovative products and services to the various customers, and this is the high
challenge for SingTel as they should meet the multiple demands of the customers
appropriately as to gain competitive advantage. The SingTel needs to adapt to the different
kinds of game-changing trends which will be helpful in managing the different types of
activities.
Strategic Recommendations for SingTel
As in case of SingTel, it is advisable for them to gain a competitive advantage in the market
by applying the Porter's Generic Forces strategies which will improve the overall profitability
of the organization uniquely. The largest telecommunication company is not being able to
focus on the small market as it utilized as to cover the majority of the business and family
users which can affect their business opportunities and this can affect the overall profitability
of the business as different small market customers are the major contributors for gaining
success.
Firstly, SingTel needs to apply the differentiation strategy which would efficiently
produce the different products and services with unique, valued attributes along with
maintaining the costs at the same time. With the help of the differentiation strategy, SingTel
would be able to provide new streams of the revenue as to meet the maturing demand of the
customers and the products and services are allowed to be perceived differently from the
other competitors such as Starhub and M1 as this will act as an opportunity for gaining
loyalty among the customers (Binder, 2016).
In addition, the cost-leadership strategy is the other approach which can be adopted
by the SingTel Company as this will permit the company as to sell the different products and
services at an average industry prices as to earn higher profits in comparison to the other
competitors in the market or below the industry related expenses as to gain market share

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appropriately. Both M1 and Starhub do not have a wide range of the different products and
services which SingTel can offer in the market (Binder, 2015).
The other aspect is that the different competitors in the competitive business
environment can use the differentiation strategy and gain a competitive advantage in the
market. To reduce the threats from the various competitors, it is essential for SingTel to
create different investments in IT related products and services as this will help in
flexibility to lower the prices as to retain the customers in the market.
Lastly, SingTel needs to offer the unique type of attributes which will be valued by
the customers. The integrated type of approach can be adopted by SingTel which can embark
upon by them which can be applied to the corporate and SME customers, on the other hand
the cost leadership strategy can be implemented in the retail sector which will be helpful in
managing the overall profitability of the organization in comparison to the other competitors.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that SingTel Company is successfully one of the
largest telecommunication companies in the entire competitive industry. From the external
environment analysis, it can be identified that there are different social and economic factors
which can affect the overall popularity of the company in comparison of the other
competitors such as M1 and Starhub. To become competitive in the business environment,
this is essential to improve the overall customer experience by introducing the different
technological advancements which are presented in the market effectively.
From Porter's Five Forces analysis, it can be commented that there are different
competitors and rivalry among the various competitors who are affecting the overall growth
of the firm negatively. On the other hand, there are various strategic recommendations which
can be provided to the company to improve their brand image in the market and gain a

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competitive market advantage as well. With the implementation of Porter’s Generic Forces, it
can be analyzed that the differentiation and the cost leadership aspects can be considered
which will improve the satisfaction among the customers and gain competitive advantage.
Lastly, SingTel Company needs to concentrate on the different small market as they can
generate more market share for the SingTel company to become more competitive.

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References
Bettis, R. A., Ethiraj, S., Gambardella, A., Helfat, C., & Mitchell, W. (2016). Creating
repeatable cumulative knowledge in strategic management: A call for a broad and
deep conversation among authors, referees, and editors. Strategic Management
Journal, 37(2), 257-261.
Binder, J. (2016). Global project management: communication, collaboration and
management across borders. Routledge.
Bromiley, P., McShane, M., Nair, A., & Rustambekov, E. (2015). Enterprise risk
management: Review, critique, and research directions. Long range planning, 48(4),
265-276.
Santandertrade.com. (2019)- Economic and political outline Singapore -. Retrieved from
https://en.portal.santandertrade.com/analyse-markets/singapore/economic-political-
outline
Environment - Singtel. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.singtel.com/about-Us/sustainability/environment
Frynas, J. G., & Mellahi, K. (2015). Global strategic management. Oxford University Press,
USA.
Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., & Schilling, M. A. (2015). Strategic management theory. Cengage
Learning.
Hitt, M., & Duane Ireland, R. (2017). The intersection of entrepreneurship and strategic
management research. The Blackwell handbook of entrepreneurship, 45-63.