SoftBank Corp, one of the largest company in Japan, started as a traditional telecom in 1981. Over the years, SoftBank grew under the visionary leadership of Masayoshi Son through acquisitions and investing in start-ups. Gradually, it evolved from a boring 'old economy' telecom into a multinational internet company, with operations in mobile broadband, e-commerce, technology, media and marketing, finance services, robotics and other businesses. SoftBank successfully channelled resources from its core telecom business into new growth drivers. Example, it is one of the earliest investors in Alibaba and still remains the largest shareholder of the Chinese e-commerce giant. Singtel can take a leaf out of SoftBank's playbook seeing that the impending 4th Telco is about to take a slice of its domestic pie. Singtel has been outperforming its two smaller local rivals this year, thanks to its vastly diversified earnings base. Core earnings from its overseas mobile associates such as Telkomsel, Advanced Info ......