Investors fail to meet Jan. 31 deadline to pay for KPC shares

The government and coal miner PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) on Thursday failed to make any decision concerning the failure by state coal miner PT Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) and East Kalimantan investors to pay to KPC for a 51 stake in the coal mining firm by January 31, Bisnis Indonesia daily reported.

The two parties agreed to meet again early next month to discuss the payment for KPC shares, Djoko Darmono, secretary general of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Meanwhile, PTBA president director Ismet Harmaini said Thursday his company could not meet the 31 January deadline because it had no money to purchase KPC shares.

Government officials and executives of KPC met on January 28-29.

Last year, KPC formally offered to sell 51 percent of its shares to the Indonesian government, which later decided that 20 percent of the 51 percent shares be bought by PTBA while the remaining 31 percent go to East Kalimantan. The East Kalimantan provincial administration appointed local PT Melati Bhakti Satya and PT Pertambangan and Energi Kutai Timur to buy the 31 percent shares.

The government and KPC shareholders, Rio Tinto and BP PLC, had agreed that the 51 percent shares would be sold at US$419 million.

Rio Tinto?s deputy director for external relations, Anang Rizkani Noor, said that all parties in Thursday?s meeting had been aware that PTBA and the East Kalimantan investors would not be able to pay for KPC shares by January 31.

?According to the framework agreement on KPC divestment, KPC has the right to offer its shares to other Indonesian investors if they can not transfer the money for the shares by January 31,? Anang said.

KPC operates a huge coal mine in East Kutai, East Kalimantan. (*)