Thai Billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi Raises Gulf Stake as Singtel Pares Holding

Thai billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi has increased his stake in Gulf Development after Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) divested shares worth SGD1 billion (US$771 million) in the Bangkok-based energy and telecommunications conglomerate.

Singtel announced on Tuesday it had sold a 2.8% stake in Gulf Development to institutional investors via a private placement. The Singaporean telecom operator said the transaction generated exceptional gains of approximately SGD140 million and is part of a strategy to redeploy capital toward growth initiatives and shareholder returns. Following the sale, Singtel retains a 4.95% stake in Gulf, valued at around SGD1.8 billion.

"This divestment underscores Singtel's concerted efforts to optimise our portfolio as we continue our disciplined approach to capital management," said Arthur Lang, Singtel's chief financial officer. "Gulf Development's share price has performed strongly since listing, providing an attractive opportunity for Singtel to crystallize value and reallocate capital towards growth and driving shareholder returns," Lang added.

In a separate filing with Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission, Sarath, acting through his entity Gulf Holdings, acquired 33.5 million shares at 59 baht each, for a total of 1.97 billion baht ($59 million), as reported by Forbes. This purchase raised Gulf Holdings' stake in the company to 4.2% from 3.9%. Including his direct and indirect holdings, Sarath, who is CEO of Gulf Development, now controls approximately 60% of the company he founded in 2007.

Singtel initially acquired a 7.7% stake in Gulf Development in 2025 after the merger of Intouch Holdings and its largest shareholder, Gulf. The deal streamlined Singtel's investment in its Thai affiliate, major mobile carrier Advanced Info Service (AIS), and created Gulf Development, one of Thailand's largest private power producers. Despite the reduced holding, Lang affirmed the ongoing relationship: "We continue to have a strong partnership with Gulf Development through our joint investment in AIS and our data centre venture."

The divestment aligns with Singtel's increased investment in growth sectors. The company projects capital expenditure to rise to about SGD 3 billion in its current fiscal year from SGD 2.5 billion a year prior, as reported by CNBC. In May, Singtel CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said, "1.2 billion are really earmarked for growth into data center into AI, which is our GPU as a service for the region, and in particular providing sovereign AI services for Singapore."

Sarath, whose real-time net worth stands at $16.9 billion, ranking him 163rd globally, has also been diversifying Gulf's business. In 2024, the company partnered with Google Cloud for AI-powered cloud infrastructure in Thailand. Its joint venture with Binance, co-founded by Changpeng Zhao, launched a cryptocurrency exchange in the country that same year. AIS is also part of a consortium that received regulatory approval last year to establish a virtual bank.