Singtel starts Asia gaming tournament in digital content push

SINGAPORE — Singtel, Southeast Asia's largest telecom services provider, will start a regional competitive gaming league as part of its diversification into e-sports and digital content.

The inaugural PVP eSports Championship will be held in Singapore this October with a prize pool of US$300,000 (S$406,968), Singtel said in a statement. To be streamed on Singtel platforms, the tournament will be set up with e-sports players such as Razer, Activision Blizzard. and Sea.

Singtel said the tournament signalled its ambition to "foster a vibrant e-sports ecosystem and community" with Singtel Optus and regional associates Bharti Airtel, Advanced Info Service, Globe Telecom and Telkomsel.

"We want to engage the largely millennial consumers across our regional footprint," Arthur Lang, Chief Executive Officer of the international group said.

Singtel, which has a market capitalisation of about US$40 billion, has sought to grow in new industries as competition encroaches on its traditional businesses.

Its stock has fallen about 24 per cent since city regulators announced plans to facilitate a fourth carrier in Singapore three years ago.

TPG Telecom is expected to start offering mobile services this year. Singtel derives 24 per cent of its sales from non-telecom businesses. BLOOMBERG