Singapore hits back over claims it rigged Indonesia’s stock market crash
Singapore’s state investor Temasek has denied involvement in Indonesia’s looming MSCI reclassification, following accusations that the city state’s sovereign wealth funds were pulling strings behind the scenes for their own gain. On Wednesday, Fock Wai Hoong, head of Asia-Pacific at Temasek Global Investments, said the claims had “no basis” and were “patently untrue”. Former Indonesian trade…
Singapore's state investor Temasek has firmly denied any involvement in the recent market turmoil in Indonesia following accusations that its sovereign wealth funds were manipulating the country's stock market. Fock Wai Hoong, head of Asia-Pacific at Temasek Global Investments, stated on Wednesday that the claims were "patently untrue" and had "no basis."
This comes after former Indonesian trade minister Muhammad Lutfi accused Singapore's Temasek and GIC of working behind the scenes to push for a downgrade of Jakarta's market status. Lutfi claimed that Singapore's state investors aimed to create market panic to acquire Jakarta's assets at discounted prices, suggesting that the recent drop in the Jakarta Composite Index was no coincidence.
MSCI announced on Friday it would conduct a formal consultation to decide whether to downgrade Southeast Asia's largest economy from "emerging market" to "stand-alone market" status. The Jakarta Composite Index fell 11.6% on Friday, wiping out around US$85 billion in market capitalisation, and continued to decline by 3.64% to close at 4,996.00 on Monday, marking a six-year low.
The global index provider cited persistent concerns over structural issues in Indonesia's market, including opaque ownership structures, highly concentrated shareholdings, and coordinated trading practices.
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- GIC, Temasek deny claims they pressured MSCI to downgrade Indonesia's market channelnewsasia.com
