Antam completes restructuring

State-owned general mining firm PT Aneka Tambang has completed its restructuring program, by establishing six strategic business units (SBUs) that would eventually be transformed into subsidiary companies.

Antam's corporate secretary Antam Dohar Siregar said the six SBUs each focuses on the mining of nickel, gold, precious metal mining, purification, geology, iron ore and bauxite.

He said the company would install directors for each SBUs in the first or second week of this month, and the SBUs would directly operate as a unit and aims to generate profits.

He added that the transformation of the six SBUs into subsidiary companies, however, was still hampered by legal constraints.

"The formation of SBUs is actually in line with the formation of limited liability companies. It's a matter of legal technicality. Once, the legal technicality is completed, the SBUs will be transformed into limited liability companies," he said.

The six SBUs would then be transformed into PT Nikel Antam, PT Emas Antam, PT Logam Mulia, PT Bauksit Antam, PT Pasir Besi Antam, PT Eksplorasi and Pengembangan Antam.

Initially, the company targeted to complete the formation of the six subsidiaries by the end of 1999. However, it must have been postponed until next year.

Antam reported that it booked a net profit of Rp 212.78 billion in the first semester of this year, or increasing 362 percent from the same period of last year. (*)