Temasek denies report of RI moves

Temasek denies report of RI moves

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government's investment arm - Temasek Holdings - has rejected reports that it was setting up its own pan-Asian banking network because of frustration over the slow regional expansion of local banks, the Straits Times and Business Times report.

Citing a statement from Temasek, the reports said the rebuttal was made in response to an earlier report by the Financial Times, which had said the government arm has decided to go it alone - with Indonesia being the first stop - because local banks aren't expanding in the region fast enough for its liking.

Temasek has been relatively aggressive in recent months in Indonesia. In June, Temasek joined with Deutsche Bank to buy a 51 percent stake in Bank Danamon.

This was followed by a joint effort with South Korea's Kookmin Bank to buy 51 percent of Bank Internasional Indonesia. --Dow Jones--