Bakrie to soon sell shares in Bumi

Aburizal Bakrie plans to soon sell his family?s 35 percent shares in IDX-listed mining house PT Bumi Resources Tbk to foreign investors amid the current global financial meltdown, Investor Daily reported Saturday.

While Aburizal did not disclose the reason to sell shares in what is seen as the Bakrie Group?s cash machine, the paper suggested that it was related to efforts to raise cash to help repay maturing debts.

?The Bakrie family will most likely no longer hold the majority shares (in Bumi) nor own shares in the company. But Bumi shares will remain good or return to normal next year,? said Aburizal Bakrie, currently coordinating minister for social welfare.

Aburizal said that many investors were eying Bumi shares, including the government of Indonesia. However, as the government had no funds, it could not buy the shares and therefore, foreign investors were more interested in buying Bumi shares.

It was reported earlier that listed state owned mining firms PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) and PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) may join forces to acquire a stake in Bumi.

Aburizal acknowledged the current difficult situation triggered by the US-exported financial crisis, but quickly stressed that the Bakrie Group had not gone bankrupt. ?What is clear is that we will soon sell our shares in Bumi,? he said. (*)