TELCO giant Singtel has inked a conditional agreement to sell its e-wallet app Dash to financial services firm Western Union. The sale is part of Singtel’s ongoing measures to simplify its structure and portfolio to boost innovation and growth opportunities, said Singtel and Western Union on Thursday (Oct 24).
Anna Yip, deputy chief executive of Singtel Singapore, said that the move is in line with the group’s Singtel28 strategy to focus on its core business and competencies.
The strategy was announced together with its second-half earnings that was released in May this year. For its second half ended Mar 31, 2024, Singtel had sunk into the red with a net loss of S$1.3 billion, compared with a net profit of S$1.1 billion in the year-ago period.
The Singtel28 plan aims to recycle capital towards the company’s growth areas and raise dividends.
Singtel’s board proposed a new value realisation dividend of S$0.038 a share, on top of a core dividend of S$0.06 a share. This took the final dividend for the full year to S$0.098 apiece.
The company had noted that it has recycled S$8 billion in capital since 2021, with a further S$6 billion to be recycled in the medium term. Singtel’s group chief financial officer Arthur Lang previously said that the funds generated would be ploughed back into the company’s growth areas and distributed back to shareholders.
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Before the sale is approved, Dash users will continue to have access to existing services, said Singtel and Western Union.
Launched in 2014, the app has more than 1.4 million users. It allows users to pay, remit, save, invest and insure from one platform.
Western Union, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, said that its acquisition of the app is part of its Evolve 2025 strategy. Announced in 2022, the strategy aims to expand its financial ecosystem, as well as improve the products and services it provides.
Shares of Singtel were trading up 0.6 per cent or S$0.02 at S$3.20 as at 9.28 am on Thursday.
