The delay, amid market turmoil that has dampened deal-making globally, came on the same day when the world's top miner BHP said it was dropping its proposed US$66 billion (S$100.2 billion) hostile takeover of Rio Tinto.

'We launched the tender process early last month based on indications of interest from investors. In light of the market conditions, we have decided not to proceed further,' Mr Gwendel Tung, director of investment at Temasek, said in a statement on Tuesday.

PowerSeraya is the third of three power companies that Temasek is selling as part of efforts to liberalise the Singapore electricity market.

Temasek said it remained committed to divesting all power companies in Singapore.

'We are flexible as to how and when we will revisit the divestment of PowerSeraya,' Mr Tung said.

The firm's plant has a capacity of 3,100 megawatts (MW) but this will rise to 3,900 MW by 2010 as it is in the process of building an 800 MW capacity natural gas-fired plant.

The pool of funds for mergers and acquisitions has shrunk after the collapse of the US subprime mortgage market. Transactions in Asia's power industry totaled US$16 billion so far this year, a fifth of 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

Temasek started the process of selling PowerSeraya in October. The winning bidder would gain a 30 per cent share in Singapore's power market and a foothold in South-east Asia's electricity market.

With the sale of Seraya, the Singapore government would further open the industry to competition after disposing of Senoko Power, the island's biggest generator, and Tuas Power, the smallest of the three plants.

'We are flexible as to how and when we will revisit the divestment of PowerSeraya,' said Mr Tung.

Temasek remains committed to divest all its power generating companies in Singapore, it added. In the meantime, PowerSeraya will continue to operate 'as usual' under the supervision of its board of directors and management.

PowerSeraya posted a profit of $218 million (US$144 million) on revenue of $2.79 billion in the financial year ended March. The Seraya Power Station, which consists of two blocks of natural gas-fired combined cycle plants and nine units of steam plants.