Aneka Tambang refuses merger plan with Timah

State owned general mining company PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) will refuse a proposal to merge the company with the ailing state tin mining company PT Timah Tbk.

Antam?s president director Deddy Aditya Sumanegara said in Jakarta on Monday if it merged with PT Timah, the move could deal a blow to the company?s expansion projects such as the construction of the company?s third ferro nickel plant.

?It is not a matter of we are willing or not. We have to see the impact of the merger on Antam,? he was quoted as saying by Business Indonesia .

Deddy, however, said that if Antam was forced to do so, the acquisition would be much better than merge.

The government as the majority shareholder of PT Timah has said it would await until December before deciding the fate of the publicly listed tin mining company, which has been under a severe financial difficulty due to the sharp drop in tin prices in recent months.

The company?s management has said that the worst scenario for the company would be to liquidate it.

But State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi said that the government had no plan to close down the company, which is based on Bangka island in South Sumatera. He said merging the company with state owned general mining company PT Aneka Tambang might be the most feasible way for PT Timah. (*)