starhub
StarHub Reuters

With Singapore welcoming throngs of Chinese visitors every year, Singapore telco StarHub launched its first branded SIM card that will enable these tourists to use WeChat without worrying about excess local data charges.

Also read: Singapore becomes the first country in Southeast Asia to get Google Wifi 

The StarHub WeChat Go SIM marks the telco's four years of partnership with WeChat, which has around 963 million combined users with Weixin as of June 2017 and remains the most popular social media app in China.

In a statement, WeChat said this partnership has enhanced the experience of Chinese Travellers in the city-state.

"Through our network of partners like StarHub, we always work to expand WeChat's ecosystem and give WeChat users more value-added services," the messaging app firm noted.

A recent study by the Singapore Tourism Board revealed that tourist arrivals from China increased 36 per cent in 2016 from the year before. Singapore is also the top Asia Pacific destination Chinese travellers would want to visit in the next 12 months, as reported by Hotels.com.

The StarHub WeChat Go SIM will be made available to Chinese travellers through popular online travel agencies, namely Mafengwo, Tongcheng Tourism and Qyer.com. It will also be available locally at StarHub shops and 7-Eleven kiosks and stores.

Two variants of the SIM will be released: a S$16 one with a seven-day validity and a S$32 with 12 days of use.

Upon reaching Changi Airport, those who avail their own SIM cards can easily activate the SIM at any of the 15 UOB Currency Exchange Counters.

The service provides local talk time, SMS and international direct dialling (IDD) credits. Users of the SIM will also be able to get Happy Roam data for their travels across 14 other overseas destinations.

Additionally, the users of the SIM are given the convenience to enjoy free local data access to the Lingcod TV mobile app, which was developed by video streaming provider Sunway Media. It has over 100,000 hours of high-quality movies, documentaries and other content out of China.

StarHub eyes adding features that will let users add data and extend validity using credit cards and WeChat Pay through WeChat's self-help mini programme.