FIND A MOBILE-phone market where penetration rates are low but growing quickly. Buy a major stake in one of the players in that market and ensure that it has all the funding it needs to grow its market share. Watch its revenue and earnings take off. Rinse. Repeat. From Indonesia to India, Singapore Telecommunications has built a formidable portfolio of overseas telecoms assets across the region. But, its formula of getting into frontier markets early doesn’t appear to be working as well as it once did. And, analysts are watching with growing unease as problems emerge at more and more of the telecom juggernaut’s overseas investments.

AFTER A BOUT of uncertainty midweek, the Straits Times Index ended 1.3% up last week, thanks to a particularly strong surge on Thursday. It closed at 2,943.02 points, the highest since July 24, 2008. There were just four trading days last week, as the market closed a day early for the Good Friday holiday.

Leading the pack was shipping company Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), as investors widely anticipate the shipping sector to shortly turn the corner. NOL touched a 52-week high of $2.17 last Thursday before closing at $2.15. It is now the best performer on the STI, having gained 30.3% year-to-date.