JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian business tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo confirmed on Wednesday his company had chosen a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned construction firm to build a theme park at a luxury resort in West Java, but said he had not signed any loan deal with China for the project.

Slideshow ( 2 images )

South China Morning Post had reported Tanoesoedibjo’s company, MNC Group, had received $500 million of funding from the Chinese government and banks for the theme park, which will be situated next door to planned properties and a golf course developed by the Trump Organization.

The report drew controversy, given the current strains between Washington and Beijing.

Asked whether his company had received $500 million of Chinese funding, Tanoesoedibjo said in a text message “not true” and stated that MNC had only appointed Chinese Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) as a contractor.

In a separate text message, M. Budi Rustanto, vice president director at subsidiary PT MNC Land, said the company had appointed MCC as a contractor and denied any loan deal.

MNC Land, the unit responsible for developing the 3,000 hectare project in West Java, signed a framework construction agreement with MCC in June 2016 to build a theme park.

The Trump Organization in 2015 struck a deal to manage a luxury resort complex and villas, as well as a golf course at the site. The project also includes other hotels, residential areas and retail centers, as well as a national park.

Tanoesoedibjo has previously said his company planned to invest $500 million in the theme park alone.

MCC did not respond to calls seeking comments on Wednesday.

On May 10, MCC said in a statement on its website, which has since been deleted, that its subsidiary had three days earlier signed a deal to join the theme park project.

Trump Organization has also signed an agreement with MNC Land to manage a 110-hectare resort in Bali.

As a business partner of Trump, Tanoesoedibjo has previously said that believed his relationship with the U.S. President could help ties between nations.

Tanoesoedibjo previously stood as a candidate to be Indonesia’s vice president in the 2014 election and subsequently founded his own political party, which will contest Indonesia’s general elections in 2019.