Singapore’s state-owned telecoms group ST Telemedia (STT) is poised to acquire a third of U-Mobile, the Malaysian 3G operator, according to reports. Malaysian newspaper The Star reports that STT will acquire a 33 percent stake from U-Mobile parent U-Television for around MYR626 million (US$183 million). Sources say that talks between STT and U-Television began last September and a due diligence on U-Mobile is said to have already been completed. U-Television has been reportedly looking for a strategic investor in U-Mobile ever since Japan’s NTT Docomo and South Korea’s KT sold their joint 33 percent stake in the operator back to the parent last Autumn. The two foreign operators sold their stake for MYR680 million amid concerns that the start-up operator was failing to compete with larger Malaysian rivals such as Maxis, Celcom Axiata and DiGi.

U-Mobile launched services in March 2008 on a proposition based around its advanced WCDMA/HSPA network. However, according to Wireless Intelligence data, the operator had just 410,000 connections by the end of last year, giving it a mere 1.5 percent share of the market. “We are constantly evaluating investment proposals and exploring business opportunities with potential partners to enhance our business growth,” said STT in statement without being specific. STT controls StarHub, Singapore’s second-largest operator.