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JAKARTA: A Jakarta district court has turned down an appeal by Singapore's Temasek Holdings and eight companies linked to it.
The court upheld the decision last November by Indonesia's anti-monopoly commission or KPPU, that the Singapore companies violated the country's anti-competition law.
It said Temasek must either sell its stake in one of the Indonesian operators or halve its shareholdings in both companies. The court also said that Temasek has 12 months to do so.
It took the panel of three judges almost two hours to deliver their verdict in the sweltering Jakarta district court on Friday.
From the start of their oral submission, there were already indications that the judges would uphold the ruling by KPPU against the Singapore companies.
Temasek and eight of its linked companies were deemed to have violated Indonesia's anti-competition law, by having cross-ownership in two of the country's largest mobile phone operators - Telkomsel and Indosat.
Temasek owns 56% of SingTel, which has a 35% stake in Telkomsel.
And Singapore Technologies Telemedia, which Temasek fully owns, controls 75% of Asia Mobile Holdings (AMH). AMH in turn owns 40% of Indosat.
The judges also instructed the Singapore companies to release or reduce their shares in the two Indonesian companies in 12 months, which is a year earlier than the original KPPU ruling.
But the court reduced the fine on each company from US$2.8 million to US$1.6 million.
Lawyers for Temasek Holdings and Singapore Technologies Telemedia said the companies plan to appeal the decision.
The lawyers said the decision by the Jakarta court has sent the wrong signal to Indonesia's would-be investors and raised the issue of legal certainty.
But they are confident the Supreme Court judges will reverse the decision by the district court when the appeal by the Singapore companies is heard. - CNA/ir
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