Bukit Asam eyeing four Salim coal miners
Thursday, December 7 2000 - 04:00 AM WIB
State-owned coal producer PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) has expressed its interest in buying the government's stake at four coal-mining companies under Indocoal of the Salim Group, according to PTBA president Sunardi.
Sunardi said that his company had expressed its interests in acquiring the stake at the four coal mining companies to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, a state agency tasked to sell assets ceded by indebted business groups to the government.
"I think there are many investors interested in the four mining companies. We are one of them," Sunardi said at the sideline of an international conference on coal for energy security in Jakarta on Wednesday (Dec. 6).
The four companies under Indocoal are PT Indominco Mandiri, PT Kitadin, PT Trubaindo Coal Mining and PT Barasentosa Lestari. All the four have operations in East Kalimantan. The first two -- Indominco and Kitadin -- have been in operation, while the two others are still in their exploration stage.
IBRA director for Asset Management Investment (AMI) Dasa Sutantio revealed recently that the combined value of the four companies reached Rp 1.02 trillion in 1999, and their combined operating income in the first six months of this year reached Rp 10 billion.
The four companies have combined coal reserves of 564 million tons in their concession areas of 12,000 hectares spreading in East Kalimantan and Sumatra.
IBRA, through PT Holdico Perkasa, holds 65 percent stake in Indominco, 100 percent in Kitadin, 60 percent in Trubaindo and 86 percent in Barasentosa. All those stakes would be sold out.
Dasa revealed that currently there were 20 companies, of which 15 foreign companies and five locals, interested in buying Indocoal assets from Holdico Perkasa, a holding company formed by IBRA to manage assets belonging to the Salim Group pledged to the agency.
And PTBA is one of the five local bidders.
Sunardi said PTBA had hired advisors for the acquisition and allocated funds, including foreign loans, to finance the acquisition.
He said that he did not know yet the bidding value presented by other companies for the four coal mining companies. He only noted that due diligence for the four companies would be conducted on Dec. 15. (*)