HK Co Apologizes To Singapore Leaders For Temasek Article (2005-09-16 06:32:00)
HONG KONG (AP)--Hong Kong-based FinanceAsia.com has apologized to Singapore''s leaders past and present for an article about Temasek, the Singapore state-owned investment company.
The apology, posted on the Web site Thursday, said that parts of an Aug. 19 report "may have been understood to have meant" that Singaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong, his father - former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew - and other family members "corruptly and improperly caused Temasek to be owned and managed for the benefit of their family."
The article may also have been understood to mean that another former prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, allowed Temasek to be used corruptly and improperly, FinanceAsia.com said.
"We admit and acknowledge that these allegations are completely false and without foundation," said the Web site, which apologized to the men "for the distress and embarrassment caused to them by these false allegations."
FinanceAsia.com issued a separate apology to Temasek and its board.
The Web site said it has agreed to pay unspecified damages "and to indemnify them for all costs and expenses incurred by them in connection with this matter."
Last year, the Economist magazine paid Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore''s founding father, and his prime minister son US$237,800 for a reference in an article to the younger Lee''s wife, Ho Ching. The magazine alleged that Ho''s appointment as the head of Temasek was not based on merit. The magazine subsequently apologized.
FinanceAsia said it is a publishing company established in 1996 with bureaus in Beijing, Singapore and Sydney. The company said it''s owned by Haymarket Publishing, a privately owned publishing company in Britain. The firm is owned by Lord Michael Heseltine, the former British deputy prime minister.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
