Digitalisation is a major buzz word at the moment, but it has different implications depending on the company’s circumstances and ambitions. Suffice to say that it potentially involves major transformations of operations, customer activities and critically the investment thesis.

I am happy to note that ST Telemedia (STT) is well-positioned to capture value in the digitalisation process as all three of our business focuses are strategically placed to take advantage of the different facets of digitalisation.

This year has already started off on an exciting note with the announcement of our acquisition of a majority stake in Singapore-based cloud computing company, Cloud Comrade. We also kicked off our year-long 25th anniversary celebrations at our well-attended Dinner and Dance in January.

Our Data Centre position continues to shine

The global data centre market is projected to continue its expansion at a fast clip and STT is perfectly placed to take advantage of this growth. The key trends of cloud growth, SaaS transformation and content generation all point to continued large scale deployments.

Our portfolio company, STT Global Data Centres (STT GDC) has established its presence as one of the top DC (data centre) providers in Singapore. Globally, STT GDC-backed VIRTUS Data Centres, the UK’s fastest growing data centre provider, has announced plans to invest nearly S$900 million (£500 million) to build five new facilities in London in the next two years. STT GDC has also recently finalised a joint venture with TICON, the leading smart industrial platform provider in Thailand, to develop a data centre facility in central Bangkok. With the Thailand expansion, STT GDC has increased its global network of DCs to more than 70 assets in 16 major business markets, including Singapore, UK, China and India. All this has been achieved in just four years.

Reinvigorating our Communications business

There have been a number of important developments in our Communications business. In its goal to improve customer experience, StarHub has launched its “Hello Change” strategy to simplify its mobile plan tiers to help customers choose what suits them best. This is part of a strategic transformation plan to optimise operational efficiencies, streamline products and drive digitalisation.

Our Malaysian investment, U Mobile, meanwhile, continues to build up a strong subscriber base while improving customer experience and network infrastructure. We are excited about their future.

Infrastructure Technology, a new frontier

STT recognises cloud computing, digital transformation and artificial intelligence are key drivers for digitally transforming companies. LEAP, a wholly owned subsidiary of STT, was formed to capture the opportunities in the growing sector. Its strategic execution combines a core organic base accelerated with investments in like-minded companies such as Bespin Global (the only firm in East Asia (comprising Korea, China and Japan) to be listed in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Infrastructure Managed Service Providers) and Cloud Comrade. I am very excited for LEAP’s prospects for 2019 and onwards, and anticipate continued further investments to accelerate STT’s position.

Helping our community

Our motto has always been to stay closely connected to the community in which we operate in. The ST Telemedia Catalyst Award, which was launched with Temasek Polytechnic in 2017, is a good example of this commitment. To date, STT has benefitted 11 award recipients, of which six have graduated. We look forward to welcoming our 3rd intake in 2019.

I am proud that our staff have also enthusiastically participated in our employee volunteerism activities to bring cheer to children and seniors. I especially welcome an even greater participation in this special year.

Scaling new horizons in 2019

2019 is a momentous milestone for STT as we celebrate our 25th anniversary. As part of the celebration, we have refreshed our brand purpose to: “Igniting Enduring Change”. We aim to be the catalyst of change to spark the development of long-term, sustainable value for all our stakeholders – our employees, portfolio companies, and our community.

We have organised year-long activities including employee engagement and volunteerism programmes. As an expansion of our education-related CSR initiative, we will be launching new scholarships with renowned universities in Singapore and the UK. We will share more in due course.

Get ready for another exciting year as we continue to strengthen and develop our existing businesses and expand our digital ecosystem in new growth areas. We expect the rest of the year to be a dynamic one, befitting our quarter century of existence.