Southeast Asia's largest telecom firm Singapore Telecommunications, or SingTel, announced Thursday that its profits over January-March fell 2.2 percent dragged down largely by its Indian affiliate Bharti Airtel.
The group CEO Chua Sock Khoong, however, told CNBC that the company had a long-term view on Bharti, in which it holds a 32 percent stake.
Bharti, India's biggest mobile phone operator, reported its fifth straight quarter of declines with a 31.5 percent drop in fourth quarter earnings.
This was largely due to the high cost of its 3G rollout in India, and the high financing costs of its $9 billion acquisition of Kuwait's Zain in Africa.
But Chua said the long-term prospects for India and Africa will outweigh any short-term negativity. "We are looking at this investment as long-term."
"Penetration in these markets are still low and so there is room for growth in voice and data". Bharti's customers grew 66 percent in 2011. Total mobile customers in both regions stand at 212 million.
Another positive sign from India, according to Singtel, is the fact that call rates are rising after a long period of price wars. In Africa, Chua said it could take four to six quarters to streamline operations.
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