Singtel plans to list its broadband unit on the Singapore Exchange next year, in a move that could raise about US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion), said a Reuters report quoting sources.

The listing would slash Singtel's stake in Netlink Trust by more than 75 per cent, it added.

One source reported that the telco is expected to appoint banks by the end of this year.

Singtel group chief executive Chua Sock Koong said in a statement yesterday: "We have an undertaking with the regulators to sell down our interest in Netlink Trust to less than 25 per cent by April 2018. But it is premature to talk about the impact of what that selldown will be.

"We will need to assess the various options of the selldown, what the valuations will be like, how best to conduct it. We will keep the market posted."

Netlink Trust was responsible for building Singapore's fibre infrastructure.

Singtel was given an April 2018 deadline by regulator Infocomm Development Authority to reduce its stake in the company, which provides high-speed broadband networks.

The sources told Reuters that the telco has been mulling a NetLink Trust listing for years.

Grace Chng