South Korean operator SK Telecom, together with Singapore’s Singtel and Thailand’s AIS, have announced a Series A investment in a regional gaming joint venture. Via this move, the three partners plan to reinforce their presence in the sector and develop new gaming-related revenue streams. The joint venture will partner with international game developers, and leverage the partners’ Korean and Southeast Asian gaming and entertainment content offering, targeting the 800 million gamers in the region.
The partnership leverages Singtel’s regional knowledge, digital and telecom assets, as well as SK Telecom’s expertise in Korean entertainment and gaming, and AIS’ experience in esports and digital content.
According to Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group, there are some 200 million gamers in the operator’s markets, “and the numbers continue to grow”. In the past two years, Singtel has teamed up various partners in the gaming ecosystem on regional esports efforts, such as PVP Esports, to connect with Gen Z and millennial audiences. In cooperation with SK Telecom and AIS, Singtel plans to offer local community engagement service, as well as content and payment channels starting this year.
AIS’ managing director Alistair David Johnston reports that there are over 27 million active gamers across all platforms, with revenue in 2019 exceeding THB 23 billion, and expected to increase to THB 27 billion in 2020.
Back in February 2019, Singtel has signed a memorandum of understanding with SK Telecom to cooperate and leverage each other’s capabilities to grow gaming and esports in Asia. Both companies planned to work together on developing and providing digital gaming content and services for gamers in the region. Singtel and SK Telecom jointly utilise their platforms and channels to power regional esports events and leagues, as well as provide curated original and third party gaming content for their respective local portals.
In October 2018, Singtel, its Australian subsidiary Optus and regional associates Airtel, AIS, Globe and Telkomsel, agreed to cooperate on gaming and esports services in Southeast Asia, Australia and India. This agreement brought together the six members of the Singtel Group to partner across the gaming space, including scaling up esports, content creation and distribution, and collaboration with the broader gaming ecosystem.
