Eight mining companies sell shares this year
Tuesday, May 29 2001 - 06:30 AM WIB
Eight foreign mining companies, including three gold mining companies and five coal mining companies, have to sell its shares to Indonesian companies or Indonesian citizens this year as part of their divestment obligation under contracts, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Tuesday.
The gold companies are PT Kelian Equatorial Mining (KEM), PT Indo Muro Kencana (IMK), PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR), while the five coal companies are PT Arutmin Indonesia, PT BHP Kendilo Coal Indonesia, PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), PT Kideco Jaya Agung (KJA), PT Adaro Indonesia, Purnomo said in a prepared statement presented during the meeting with the House of Representatives' Commission VIII for energy and mineral resources, environment, science and technology.
Under the contracts, all foreign mining companies have to offer their shares to either the Indonesian government, state companies, companies or citizens after a certain period of production.
Purnomo said KEM, which is a subsidiary of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, was required to start divesting its shares in 1997, while IMK, a subsidiary of Australian firm Aurora Gold, had to divest its shares last year. But thus far, no parties were interested in their shares due to the economic crisis and the small gold resources owned by both companies.
He did not specify about the divestment of NMR, but Newmont Corp, which owns the firm, has stated it would close down the gold firm soon due to the decline in its gold resources in North Sulawesi.
Purnomo added BHP Kendilo Coal would not carry out its divestment program because it would soon stop its Kalimantan operation in 2002.
Purnomo said the government has stated that it was not interested to buy shares in Arutmin, KPC, KJA and Adaro. Thus, he said, it has been offering regional governments-owned companies or Indonesian companies or citizens to buy the shares.
The East Kalimantan provincial administration is now seeking to buy 51 percent shares in KPC. (Godang)