KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Telecommunications tycoon Ananda Krishnan’s Astro Group will now only get less than US$1 million from Indonesia’s Lippo Group over a failed business venture after a Singapore court ruled against the full enforcement of a US$250 million arbitration award.

Singapore’s Court of Appeal said that Lippo Group’s two units — PT First Media (KBLV) and PT Ayunda Prima Mitra — only had to pay around US$ 700,000 to five units under Astro, business news wire Bloomberg reported yesterday.

In October last year, Astro won the US$250 million award in the Singapore Arbitration Court, with eight units under the group then seeking to enforce the ruling against three units of Lippo group.

But yesterday, Singapore’s Court of Appeal said three Astro units which were claiming most of the US$250 million award - had not signed any arbitration agreement with First Media and could not enforce their claim, with the five other units to get about US$700,000 out of the original award.

Indonesia’s Jakarta Globe newspaper also reported on Singapore’s Court of Appeal yesterday agreed with First Media’s contention that the Arbitration Court had went beyond its jurisdiction when it gave an award to the three Astro units.

In its 119-page ruling, a three-judge panel at the Singapore Court of Appeal said that the three companies - Astro All Asia Networks, Measat Broadcast Systems and All Asia Multimedia Networks FZ-LLC - would not be able to enforce their claims.

“First Media is grateful for the decision of the Singapore Court of Appeal and is delighted that its faith in obtaining justice in the Singapore courts has been finally vindicated,” Edmund J. Kronenburg, one of  one of Lippo Group’s lawyers, was quoted by Jakarta Globe as saying yesterday.

The two Southeast Asian giants, Malaysian billionaire Krishnan’s Astro and Indonesian tycoon James Riady’s Lippo had started a cable television joint-venture in 2005.

But Astro All Asia Networks stopped the venture in 2008 after Lippo had allegedly failed to pay a RM805 million or US$ 254 million bill charged by the Malaysian group for its services.

Lippo had in turn sued Astro and its units for allegedly threatening to stop providing satellite services for the pay-television venture.