Singapore's state investment firm Temasek Holdings said on Wednesday that it would defend itself against the findings by Indonesia's anti-trust body KPPU that it had violated the country's anti-monopoly laws.
"Temasek Holdings will vigorously defend its legal rights at all opportunities and in all available legal forums. As legal counsel for Temasek Holdings, I will be seeking clarification from KPPU on this matter," Temasek said in a statement to Reuters, quoting its lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis. "The claims against Temasek Holdings are baseless and without merit," the email said.
Singapore's state TV reported late on Tuesday that Indonesia's anti-monopoly body KPPU had found that Singapore's Temasek violated the country's anti-monopoly laws through its stakes in two Indonesian telecommunications firms.
A KPPU spokeswoman on Tuesday declined to comment on the report.
KPPU, Indonesia's anti-trust agency, launched a preliminary investigation in December after it received a price-fixing complaint concerning Temasek, which has large stakes in Indonesia's two biggest telephone firms.
Asia Mobile Holdings, 75% owned by Temasek's unit ST Telemedia, has a 40% stake in PT Indosat Tbk, Indonesia's second-largest mobile phone operator.
Temasek also owns a stake in Indonesia's largest mobile phone operator, PT Telekomunikasi Selular, through Singapore Telecommunications.
Temasek said that it was surprised to find that the proceedings were reported in the media ahead of a formal ruling in the case.
"In view of the confidentiality of the proceedings, we are surprised to hear that the findings of the case have appeared in the media ahead of the November ruling and before Temasek Holdings has responded to these findings," the statement said.
The news channel said KPPU gave Temasek a fortnight to submit its defense.
It reported that KPPU's findings have been submitted to a five-member independent council that would deliver a judgement.