"We have no comment," Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Goh Chee Kong told

France's economic daily La Tribune reported August 31 that Singapore had bought the missiles to equip six Lafayette frigates ordered in March from the French government's Marine Construction Department shipyard.

Aerospatiale has confirmed that it beat Israeli competition to a contract for sea-to-sea missiles among other items.

An Aerospatiale-Matra Missiles spokesman in Paris refused to disclose the buyer or the financial terms of the deal, saying the client country had demanded "the greatest secrecy" about the order.

But the company's contract was less than the reported US$700 million because other suppliers were involved in the deal, he added.

Aerospatiale, a subsidiary of the new European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Company, will be selling Singapore Exocet sea-to-sea MM-39 missiles.

Israel's state-owned Israeli Aircraft Industries and privately owned Rafael had been bidding for the contract, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The secrecy surrounding the deal once again raised the issue of the lack of transparency in French arms deals.

A French parliamentary committee on arms exports said in April that current practice was damaging France's reputation and called for greater accountability to the public in such transactions.