Lanxess denies talks with Singapore's GIC on stake

SINGAPORE, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Lanxess AG (LXSG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it was not in talks with the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) over a possible investment by the sovereign wealth fund in the chemicals company, refuting a German newspaper report.

In an interview to be published on Wednesday, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quoted Chief Executive Axel Heitmann as saying that Lanxess was holding discussions with Singapore's largest sovereign wealth fund about buying a stake in the German firm.

"There are no negotiations between Lanxess and GIC," Lanxess said in an emailed statement.

"Reports that Mr Heitmann wanted to speak with the Singapore industry fund Temasek Holdings as soon as possible are incorrect," the statement added.

Lanxess said Heitmann met with representatives of GIC "as a courtesy" following its announcement on Tuesday that it would build a new rubber plant in Singapore worth 400 million euros ($585 million).

"Any other interpretation of this meeting is pure speculation," the statement said. (Reporting by Jennifer Tan, editing by Neil Chatterjee)