>SINGAPORE, Nov 20, 2007 (AFP) - Temasek Holdings is "not guilty" of breaking Indonesia's anti-monopoly laws and will contest a ruling made by the country's business regulator, the state-linked Singapore investment firm said.
The Commission for Supervision of Business Competition said late Monday Temasek had acted illegally in investments related to Indonesia's two largest cellular phone operators, Telkomsel and Indosat.
"We are not guilty. The decision makes no sense. It ignores the facts," said Temasek's executive director Simon Israel.
"The charge against Temasek is groundless... Temasek has no shares in Indosat and Telkomsel, and we play no role in their business decisions and operations," he said in a statement late Monday after the Indonesian regulator handed down its ruling.
He also said Temasek "will fight" the decision of the business regulator which is also known as KPPU.
Temasek owns 56 percent of Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) which in turn owns 35 percent of Indonesia's largest cellphone carrier, Telkomsel.
It also also owns all of Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT), which along with Qatar Telecom owns a 41.9 percent stake in Indonesia's second-largest telecommunications company, Indosat.
Temasek and its affiliates "are legally and convincingly proven to have violated Article 27 of the anti-monopoly law," Syamsul Maarif, chairman of the KPPU panel in charge of the case, told reporters.
The commission ordered Temasek to divest its stake in one of the companies to remove its cross-ownership within two years.
Established in 1974 by the Singaporean government, Temasek has an investment portfolio worth over 100 billion US dollars and owns stakes in some of Asia's best-known companies including Singapore Airlines.
It has stepped up its investments in Asia's emerging economies in recent years, snapping up stakes in companies in the financial, telecoms and technology sectors.
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