Govt gives permission to Freeport to hold extraordinary shareholders meeting

The government has given greenlight to gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia to hold its extraordinary shareholders meeting today (Tuesday) with an agenda to approve the merger of PT Indocopper Investama with Freeport, the Bisnis Indonesia newspaper reported in its Tuesday edition.

Director-general of mineral resources and geology Simon Felix Sembiring said the government in its capacity as a regulator has already sent a letter to Freeport to hold the meeting.

?The government?s letter was sent to Freeport on February 26, 2004. It should be underlined here that the government has sent that letter as a regulator but not as a shareholder,? Simon said in Jakarta on Monday.

With the government letter, according to Simon, Freeport?s shareholders? meeting is legally valid and do not violate any term in its contract of work. The law on limited liability companies can?t be violated. If the meeting approves the merger, therefore, there must be a change in the company?s act, which will be in accordance with the law on limited liability companies.

Freeport must report the results of the meeting to the government, Simon said.

Earlier, State Minister of State Enterprises's deputy Roes Aryaiwijaya said the meeting will violate the terms of Freeport?s contract with the government.

The plan to merge the two companies was forwarded to the government after U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Plc, the majority owner of Freeport, bought the shares owned by PT Indocopper in Papua-based mining firm in August 2002. (*)