Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) has announced that its chairman, Chumpol NaLamlieng, is stepping down in July.

Simon Israel, currently a non-executive and non-independent member of SingTel board of directors, will assume the post to be vacated by Mr Chumpol, a company statement to the stock exchange said.

Mr Israel, 58, is now the president and an executive director of SingTel's majority shareholder Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singapore government. He will relinquish these positions before assuming the SingTel chairmanship, the company said.

SingTel, with a reported mobile subscriber base of some "383 million customers from its own operations and regional associates in 35 countries," is regarded as one of the world's top mobile network operators.

The 64-year-old Mr Chumpol, a Thai national, was appointed a non-executive and independent director at SingTel in 2002. He was elected board chairman the following year.

As chairman, Mr Chumpol focused on strengthening SingTel's market share in the city-state and driving profitable growth in Australia, SingTel said in a statement.

Mr Chumpol's "acumen and insights have been instrumental in guiding the SingTel Group through its journey of transformation and helping to reinforce its position as Asia's leading communications group, particularly through periods of severe economic downturn as in the recent past," said lead independent director Kai Nargolwala.

SingTel also said the Mr Israel, who is from New Zealand, was chairman of Danone Asia Pacific Ltd. before joining Temasek.

Also set to step down at the July 29 AGM are two non-executive independent directors, Graham John Bradley and Nicky Tan, SingTel also announced.

SingTel said it has appointed investment firm NewSmith Capital Partners' chairman Low Check Kian as non-executive and independent Director.