In a move that caught the industry largely by surprise¸ SingTel's Lee gave no reason for his departure but said he would stay on until his successor has been found. The shock announcement came after the Singapore stock market closed Friday.
Lee, who is also the younger brother of Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, joined SingTel in 1994 and was named group CEO in February this year. The SingTel Group includes mobile operator SingTel Mobile, Internet service provider SingNet and systems integrator NCS.
Local news reports quoted Lee as stating: "I believe that the time is right for me to convey to the SingTel board my intention to relinquish my position as group CEO, and for a search for a successor to be initiated."
He added that now is as good a time to leave because the company today is "operationally and financially" strong.
Under Lee, SingTel successfully made several acquisitions and key investments aimed at widening its footprint in the region. These had included the controversial purchase of Australia's Optus for AU$14 billion (US$10.3 billion) in 2001, and investments in India's Bharti and Indonesia's Telkomsel.
In its last fiscal year, ended March 31 this year, SingTel recorded a turnover of S$13.1 billion (US$8.2 billion) and net profits totalling S$4.2 billion (US$2.6 billion). The company has 19,000 employees worldwide, in 37 cities across 19 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the United States.
SingTel was inadvertently embroiled in a controversy that emerged early this year when its majority shareholder Temasek Holdings, partnered a group of Thai investors and Siam Commercial Bank to acquire shares from the Shinawatra and Damapong families, giving the allies almost 50 percent share in Thai conglomerate Shin Corp. The bid sparked a political crisis in Thailand, where the country's primer minister Thaksin Shinawatra--who is a member of the Shinawatra clan--was later forced to resign.
Interestingly which Lee family member actually sits at the top as the family owns the chain all the way to the top of the country. Let me explain, Minister Mentor, was senior minister, was prime minister is his father, prime minister today is his brother. Temasek Holdings (governments investment body) which owns SingTel is run by the Prime Ministers wife.
Nothing like a stranglehold on a country is there...