Singapore – Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) reported a 17% fall in fiscal fourth-quarter net profit and warned that the economies in its two major markets, Singapore and Australia, are expected to slow in 2009 due to the global downturn. Southeast Asia’s largest telecommunications firm by revenue, said net profit fell to S$903.4 million (US$617 million) in the quarter ended March 31. This is down from the S$1.09 billion profit reported a year earlier when it booked a S$153 million exceptional gain. Operating revenue was S$3.57 billion, down 5.1% from S$3.76 billion the same time a year ago.For the full year, SingTel’s net profit fell 13% to $S3.45 billion compared with S$3.96 billion a year earlier. Annual revenue was up 0.6% to S$14.93 billion from S$14.84 billion previously.