Bara Kaltim obtains bank loans to take over KPC
Monday, April 22 2002 - 03:06 AM WIB
BKS director HA Popa Parulian said in Samarinda over the weekend that the provincial administration of East Kalimantan and the local legislative council had also hinted that they would support the company?s plan to take over the majority stake of PT Kaltim Prima Coal.
However, he acknowledged that the company?s plan to take over the company?s majority stake could be hampered by the central government?s policy. "There is a strong indication that the government will appoint a state owned company (BUMN) to take over the majority stake in KPC," he said.
KPC, which operates a large coal mining area in East Kalimantan, is equally owned by world mining giants Rio Tinto and BP. Under its contracts of works, the company?s shareholders are required to divest 51 percent of their shares to local investors.
However, the mandatory divestment program does not run as expected due to dispute with the East Kalimantan provincial administration, which recently filed a legal suit against the existing shareholders for allegedly barring it from bidding the 51 percent share.
Bara Kaltim, one of a company owned by East Kalimantan provincial administration, will act on the behalf of the local government in taking over the coal mining company. Besides the company, several other investors have also filed their bids to buy KPC?s 51 percent stake. They include PT Intam Bumi Inti Perkasa (IBIB), which is owned by David Liem, PT Borneo Batubara (owned by Reynaldo Thamrin), PT Bumi Resources (Bakrie Group). PT E Securities, and PT Nusantara (owned by Prabowo Subyanto).
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said recently that it would issue two recommendations to President Megawati?s cabinet in solving the divestment problem. One of the recommendation is to allow state firms (BUMNs) to buy the 51 percent of KPC, while the second one is to allow the ministry to name the buyers. (*)