July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Temasek Holdings Pte., Singapore's state-owned investment company that manages more than $100 billion, said a report on the sale of its stake in Merrill Lynch & Co. is ``mischievous speculation.''

Temasek sold half of its shares in Merrill, Mffais.com reported, quoting filings on July 22. The Long Beach, California- based company didn't immediately respond to a voice-mail message. There were no filings relating to Temasek's stake in Merrill in the past week, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

``This is mischievous speculation on which Temasek does not comment,'' Temasek said in a statement today. ``Investors and interested public are advised to refer only to official sources of information for announcements on major transactions.''

Temasek became the biggest shareholder in the third-largest U.S. securities firm after investing $5 billion into Merrill since late last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Merrill's shares have fallen 46 percent since Dec. 24, when Temasek's cash injection was announced, compared with a 30 percent decline in the Standard and Poor's 500 Financials Index.

The New York-based company ranks second behind Citigroup Inc. in posting the most amount of writedowns and losses triggered by a global credit contraction.

Last week, Merrill reported a wider-than-estimated second- quarter loss of $4.65 billion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chia-Peck Wong in Hong Kong at cpwong@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 25, 2008 08:23 EDT