Govt asks coalminer Adaro to postpone its share divestment

The government has formally asked coalminer PT Adaro Indonesia to postpone the divestment of its shares until the dispute related to the ownership of the company's shares is settled, Investor Daily reported on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources sent a letter on March 18 to ask Adaro to temporarily halt the process of its share divestment upon the request from OC Kaligis, the lawyer of Beckket Pte Ltd, one of the companies, which claimed ownership in the coalminer's shares.

Meanwhile the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has also ordered PT Adaro to postpone its plan to change the composition of its shares, until the dispute related to the share ownership is clarified.

The dispute began when Beckket, which owns 40 percent stake in PT Adaro through PT Asminco Bara Utama, and PT Indonesia Bulk Terminal, obtained loan worth about US$100 million from Deutsche Bank in 1977.

In 1998, the bank took over the company's share ownership after the company failed to repay the loan. Later in 2002, Deutsche Bank sold the shares to existing shareholder PT Dianlia Setyamukti. The deal, which increased PT Dianlia's share ownership to 51 percent, has caused a prolonged dispute among the coalminers' shareholders. (*)