| Reuters November 20, 2007 SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Telecommunications said on Tuesday, Nov 20, that it plans to take necessary legal action to protect its interest in Indonesia after a watchdog ruled that its stake in mobile phone firm Telkomsel violates anti-monopoly laws. SingTel has a 35 percent stake in PT Telekomunikasi Selular , Indonesia's biggest mobile phone firm, through its wholly-owned unit SingTel Mobile. "SingTel and SingTel Mobile will review the decision and will take all necessary steps to protect their interests under Indonesian and international law," the company said in a statement. Indonesia on Monday ordered the Singapore government's investment arm Temasek Holdings to sell its stake in one of two major Indonesian mobile phone firms within two years, also fining it for a breach of competition law. The other of Temasek's units is PT Indosat . Asia Mobile Holdings, 75 percent owned by Temasek's unit ST Telemedia, has a 40 percent stake in PT Indosat, Indonesia's second-largest mobile phone operator. KPPU, the country's anti-trust agency, also said that it would fine Temasek and its telecom units 25 billion rupiah each each. SingTel said that it was disappointed with the decision which it said was "misconceived." It said that SingTel has an independent board of directors and its businesses are not controlled or operated by Temasek. Both Temasek and ST Telemedia have denied any wrongdoing and have said they would contest the decision. Temasek has a 56 percent stake in SingTel as of March 2007, according to its Web site. |
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