Liem stake in UIC 'not for sale'

Liem stake in UIC 'not for sale'

SINGAPORE (Reuters): Indonesian tycoon Liem Sioe Liong has not put his stake in Singapore property group United Industrial Corp up for sale, Tan Kong King, managing director of KMP Pte Ltd, said yesterday.

KMP is a Singapore company privately owned by Liem. It is also the vehicle which the Indonesian tycoon, who was closely associated with former president Soeharto, uses to hold stakes in several listed Singapore companies where he has interests.

These include UIC, Singapore Land, Jurong Cement and food- based QAF Ltd.

An industry source, who declined to be identified, had told Reuters Liem had put his UIC stake up for sale.

"I was told that Liem was keen to sell his stake given the latest developments in Indonesia," said the source.

Liem's business interests in Indonesia, held under the Salim group, have been going through troubled times since Soeharto stood down.

Bank Central Asia, Indonesia's largest private bank and controlled by Liem, has been placed under supervision of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring agency after runs on the bank's branches.