East Kalimantan council to examine provincial bid for KPC shares
Tuesday, May 9 2000 - 04:30 AM WIB
The East Kalimantan provincial council planned to form a special committee to study the plan of the East Kalimantan provincial administration-owned company to buy the shares of coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal.
Deputy speaker of the council Khairul Fuad the special committee would analyze the plan before the council makes a decision whether to support it, Kaltim Post reported.
The provincial administration has reportedly planned to buy 51 percent shares in KPC through its company PT Melati Satya Bhakti in cooperation with PT Intan Bumi Inti Pradana. The plan has caused controversies since Intan was reportedly owned by a businessman linked to Sudono Salim, a crony of former President Soeharto.
Kharul said the council would support the cooperation as long as it brought benefits to Melati Satya Bhakti and the local people.
KPC was obliged by its contract of work to sell up to 51 percent of its shares to either the Indonesian government, Indonesian-owned companies or Indonesian citizens after a period of production.
KPC is equally owned by Anglo-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto and British firm British Petroleum. (*)