Antam yet decide portion of KPC shares it wants

Diversified mining firm PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) said on Monday it had yet to decide the portion of the stake in coal miner PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) it was going to buy.

Antam president director Deddy Aditya Sumanagara said his company had submitted its bid to purchase KPC shares about one week ago. ?But we have not yet decided on the share portion. I should say KPC has very bright prospects, ? he told reporters in Bali.

Antam, majority owned by the government, is listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange and an Australian bourse.

Earlier report said another state coal miner, PT Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA), had also submitted its proposal to the government?s due diligence team in charge of examining prospective buyers of KPC shares.

The central government, which had been formally offered on July 31 to buy a 51 percent stake in East Kalimantan-based KPC, retained 20 percent of the shares while allocating the remaining 31 percent portion to East Kalimantan provincial administration.

The central government had decided to sell the 20 percent shares to state enterprises.

Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Secretary General Djoko Dharmono said last week the government?s due diligence team had started examining Antam and PTBA.

Djoko added the team was awaiting the East Kalimantan administration to provide it with lists of investors willing to buy the 31 percent stake in KPC which had been allocated to the province. (godang)