Investors eying KPC stake to make public expose

Five investors who have expressed interest to purchase shares in East Kalimantan-based coal mining giant PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) are scheduled to make a public expose on Monday at the headquarters of the East Kutai regency legislative council, the local Kaltim Post daily reported Friday.

The five investors are PT Intan Bumi Inti Pradana (IBIP), PT Batu Bara Borneo Batuah, PT Nusantara Energi, Nirwan Bakrie Group, and E-Capital Consultant.

?The presentation to be made by the five investor candidates is in accordance with the demand of the East Kutai legislative council. The presentation is scheduled for Monday,? East Kutai Regent Awang Faroek told the paper.

He said that the presentation

He said that via the presentation, the public can judge by themselves which investors offer the best term for the regency.

KPC, which holds a vast coal mining site in the Sangatta area in East Kutai, is obliged to divest up to 51 percent stake to the government or local investors. After several delays, the new deadline for the divestment is now set at end of June.

East Kalimantan has demanded it becomes the preferred bidder for the 51 percent stake.

The East Kalimantan provincial administration has championed IBIP to help finance the acquisition, while the East Kutai regency government is reportedly to prefer Batu Bara Batua Borneo.

Elsewhere, Awang urged the provincial administration to drop an earlier lawsuit against KPC and its shareholders Rio Tinto and BP Plc. to accelerate the divestment program. The lawsuit was made last year following delays in the divestment program.(*)