By Ann Williams and Gabriel Chen

SINGAPORE Telecommunications is raiding its war chest to boost its stake in its biggest overseas associate, India's largest mobile phone service provider Bharti Airtel.

SingTel said in a statement to the stock exchange late Friday that the acquisition, which could cost up to US$641 million (S$898 million), was in line with its strategic focus on 'maximizing the value of its existing businesses.'

The Bharti deal will not be SingTel's largest acquisition, which was its 2001 purchase of Aussie telco Optus for S$14 billion.

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