Chua Sock Koong, who took over from Lee Hsien Yang this month as head of Southeast Asia's biggest phone company, said however that SingTel needed time to understand the new markets well.

"As strategic investors, you need to know these places a lot better before you can make an investment," she said in her first news briefing as CEO.

"Financial investors are somewhat different. You know it's a portfolio approach -- you don't invest in such large amounts so you can get in and out easily.