India's Satyam asks World Bank to withdraw statement

BANGALORE, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Satyam Computer Services (SATY.BO) said on Thursday it had asked the World Bank to withdraw "inappropriate" statements about the Indian outsourcer and to issue an apology for harm done to the company.

The World Bank said on Tuesday Satyam had been declared ineligible for direct contracts with the bank for eight years, effective from last September. [ID:nBOM404061]

New York-listed Satyam (SAY.N) said it had asked the World Bank to issue a new statement apologising to Satyam and provide it with an explanation of the circumstances relating to its statements.

"Satyam further advised the Bank that Satyam would evaluate all possible options in view of both the Bank's inappropriate public statements and its response to Satyam's requests," it said in a statement.

The World Bank said by it stood by its earlier statement. "The Bank stands by the statement issued on its India website on 23rd December," said Carl Hanlon, a World Bank spokesman in Washington.

The Bank said on Tuesday that, "Satyam was declared ineligible for contracts for providing improper benefits to Bank staff and for failing to maintain documentation to support fees charged for its subcontractors."

Shares in Satyam, India's No.4 software services outsourcer, fell after the Bank said it had barred it from business.

The stock was already under pressure after the firm said last week it would pay $1.6 billion for two infrastructure firms in which its management held stakes.

It dropped the plan within hours after investors reacted angrily but its shares have since plunged 40 percent. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Charlotte Cooper and Myra MacDonald)