"If this is a commercial transaction on the basis of both sides being willing parties, then I see no problem at all. This is for Temasek to consider and for the buyers to consider whether the price is right," The Sunday Times quoted Yeo as saying.

Temasek gained control of ShinSat, Thailand's only satellite operator, when it bought a 49 percent stake in Thai telecom giant Shin Corp from the family of then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra early last year.

Disclosures that the family paid no taxes on its windfall gains from the deals parked a scandal which triggered mass protests against Thaksin, culminating in his ouster in a bloodless coup last September.

Junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin recently vowed to take back control of ShinSat and accused Singapore of using the firm to spy on Thailand.

ShinSat rejected Sonthi's allegations.

In an interview Saturday with Malaysia's official Bernama news agency, Thailand's military-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanot appeared to distance himself from Sonthi's comments, saying the government would not get involved and it was up to Thai companies to buy back the satellites.

The Sunday Times quoted Singapore's foreign minister as saying that Thailand wanted to make sure their economy continued to welcome foreign investment.

"I think they are very conscious that whatever they do with respect to Singapore, (it) must be something which they are prepared to do with any other country, so that all foreign investors are treated equally."

Relations between Singapore and Thailand deteriorated over the past month after Thaksin held a private meeting in the city-state with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar.

After the visit, Sonthi voiced his concerns about the satellites.

On Friday night, Yeo said Singapore's ongoing diplomatic spats with Thailand and Indonesia "are not big problems" and relations overall remain good.

Agence France-Presse