Adaro shareholders appeal to the President over share dispute

PT Dianlia Setiamukti, the majority shareholder of East Kalimantan-based coal miner PT Adaro Indonesia, has appealed to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over the company's share dispute with former shareholder.

Koran Tempo reported on Friday that Dianlia's lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution had asked the President to interfere with the court's decision, which annulled Dianlia's purchase of Adaro's shares from Deutsche Bank.

"The dispute has not only damaged the image of Adaro but also affected production activities," he said. Meanwhile the lawyer of Deutsche Bank also made a similar move and asked the President to cancel the court's decision.

The dispute began when PT Asminco Bara Utama, which owns 40 percent share in PT Adaro, surrendered its shares to Deutsche Bank in 1997 as part of the collaterals of its debts worth US$100 million to the bank.

The bank sold the shares to Dianlia later in 2002 after Asminco failed to pay its debt.

Not happy with the deal, Beckett Pte Ltd, which owns PT Asminco, took the case to the South Jakarta court and then won the legal fight to cancel the deal.

Commenting to the appeals made by Dianlia and Deutsche Bank, the lawyer of Beckett, Lucas said that it was strange and unethical if the two companies made an appeal to President Susilo. "They should appeal to the court not to the President," he added. (*)