Golden Energy to increase sales in domestic market

By Brigida Ernestina Elu Wea

IDX-listed coal mining firm PT Golden Energy Mines Tbk aims to increase sales volume in the domestic market, to account for 60 percent of total sales this year, from 53 percent last year.

Fuganto Widjaja, President Director of Golden Energy said that higher sales in the domestic market comes amid rising demand not only from power plants operated by state electricity firm PT PLN, but also from other industries such as smelter, cement, and paper.

Fuganto said Friday that the increase in coal demand at home will be more evident in 2018-2020, when more coal fired power plants enter financial closing, start construction, or completed. Higher demand for this year will primarily come from paper and cement companies as the industries grow in line with the government?s push on infrastructure development.

?Domestic sales will be our backbone, and within the next two or three years, demand from electricity projects will be more evident,? Fuganto said.

He said the company will also continue export, not only to traditional markets of India and China, but also to growing markets particularly in Southeast Asia where power plants are also being developed.

?India and China will still be the dominant export markets, but in line with declining demand from China, we?ll open up new markets in ASEAN. Our target is both traders and end users of coal,? he said.

This year, Golden Energy has set coal sales target of 9-10 million tons, of which 8 million comes from own coal mines, and 2 million tons from its trading units.

Golden Energy through three subsidiaries including PT Borneo Indobara, PT Kuansing Inti Makmur and PT Trisula Kencana Sakti hold a combined coal concessions of 38,165 hectares spread in South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and Jambi provinces.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak