Govt extends divestment talks deadline with Newmont
Saturday, June 20 2009 - 01:17 AM WIB
The government has decided to extend by two weeks from June 15 to the end of June 2009 the deadline divestment talks for 2008-2009 periods with PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT), Antara news agency reported.
Director general for mineral, coal and geothermal affairs of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bambang Setiawan said on Friday the government still expect to reach an agreement with NNT.
With the extension of the deadline, the appointment of an independent assessment team is delayed for the time being.
The government and NNT had initially agreed to appoint an independent assessment team to calculate the value of NNT assets for the divestment process if both sides failed to reach an agreement by June 15, 2009.
Earlier, NNT said its asset is worth US$4.97 billion this year. The value of the 7 percent stake in the company it was required to divest for 2008 is $348 million, while the value of the 7 percent it has to divest this year is $462 million.
The government, meanwhile, estimated that the firm's asset value for this year would not top $4 billion.(*)