East Kalimantan forms commission to study purchase of KPC shares

The East Kalimantan administration and the local House of Representatives have formed a special commission to study the plans to purchase shares in the giant coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), according to a spokesman.

East Kalimantan administration spokesman Haritsah Ratman was quoted by the Kaltim Post daily as saying the commission would study the various aspects of the acquisition plans.

Haritsah said that the commission would decide how profitable KPC was to the administration, the acquisition price and the business prospect including the amount of the coal deposits.

But Haritsah said that the commission agreed not to discuss the question on PT Intan, a private investor based in Jakarta, which had been appointed by the administration to finance the acquisition.

Intan plans to provide 10 percent of the purchased stake to the East Kalimantan administration for free.

There has been reports that said that Intan is owned by the country's conglomerate, the Salim Group.

KPC is required to divest up to 51 percent of its stake. The company plans to divest 37 percent. (*)