Bumi set to announce stake buyers for mining units

Energy resources firm PT Bumi Resources Tbk. will announce the buyers of the company?s respective 30 percent stakes in PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) and PT Arutmin Indonesia next month, says a Bumi executive.

?We will announce the winners by the end of March,? said Eddie J. Soebari, in Jakarta.

He said that six investors would be conducting the final stages of due diligence until Feb. 28, before submitting their bids.

Initially, 13 companies had expressed an interest in purchasing Bumi?s stakes in the two firms, but only six of these passed the initial selection process early last month. They include Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) of Brazil, Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP) Billiton of Australia, Glencore International AG of Ireland and Marubeni of Japan.

Earlier reports said that Indian firm Tata Power Company (TPC) is preparing to bid at about US$1.6 billion for 30 percent of Bumi stake in an attempt to counter Mitsubishi?a bid of $1.32 billion. The Japanese company?s bid is the highest so far, India's Times News Network reported in Feb 14. (*)