Govt agrees KPC must divest 51 percent stake this year
Friday, June 16 2000 - 02:15 AM WIB
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has finally agreed that giant coal mining firm PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) must divest up to 51 percent of its stake this year, according to a local East Kalimatan legislator.
"After a meeting in Samarinda and meet again in Jakarta, the Ministry of Mines and Energy finally can understand why KPC must divest up to 51 percent of its shares," head of the East Kalimantan House of Representatives commission C Agus Tantomo was quoted as saying on Thursday by the East Kalimantan Kaltim Post daily.
Several local legislators and members of the East Kalimantan administration met with officials of the Ministry in Jakarta to discuss the size of the KPC divestment this year.
Agus said that according to the KPC contract signed with the government in 1982, the company was supposed to have already divested 15 percent of its shares in November 1994, another seven percent over the next following years which would end up with 51 percent in 2000.
The government had said earlier that KPC was obliged to only sell 37 percent of its shares this year as part of its overall obligation to divest up to 51 percent stake.
Meanwhile, senior East Kalimantan administration official Syaiful Teteng said that the meeting also discussed earlier press reports that international financier George Soros had clinched a deal with the East Kalimantan administration to help finance the KPC acquisition.
Syaiful said once again that the administration had never made such a deal with Soros.
He said that another meeting between East Kalimantan and KPC would be soon organized by the Ministry to finalize the divestment plan of KPC.
According to its contract with the government KPC is obliged to divest up to 51 percent of its stake to the Indonesian sides. The company has said that based on the contract, the divestment this year would be 37 percent.
The East Kalimantan administration has the first priority to purchase the KPC shares.
Meanwhile, Kaltim Post also reported that some 200 KPC employees staged a demonstration on Thursday at the Sangatta mining site demanding for a better salary and other benefits.
The demonstration disrupted the operation of the conveyor delivering coal from the stockpile to the Tanjung Bara port.
Some 100 policemen had been sent to the location to secure the mining operation. (*)