Kahara Bodas Company to appeal Jakarta court?s ruling
Thursday, August 29 2002 - 09:20 AM WIB
?KBC intends to proceed with any and all legal efforts to secure payment, and this includes appealing to the Indonesian Supreme Court,? Jim Bishop, Jr., vice chairman of Caithness Energy, a major shareholder in KBC, said in a press statement released on Wednesday.
Bishop said the Indonesian supreme court had shown sound judgment in overturning recent flawed decisions by lower courts, including in the case of PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia (AJMI), the Indonesian unit of Toronto-based insurance giant Manulife.
Meanwhile, KBC?s chief litigator Chris Dugan called on the Indonesian Supreme Court to put and end to the efforts made by state oil and gas company Pertamina in Indonesia against the $261.1 million award which had been granted by Switzerland-based arbitration court. Dugan said in the same press statement Pertamina?s moves had only raised questions about the viability of investment in Indonesia.
KBC has been involved in a legal battle with Pertamina, which centers on the Kahara Bodas geothermal power project in West Java. KBC filed a suit in the Swiss panel of arbitrators against Pertamina after the Indonesian government suspended the Karaha Bodas project in 1998 in the wake of severe economic crisis.
The Swiss court panel in 2000 ordered Pertamina to pay KBC $261.1 million in compensation for its costs and loss of future profits due to the project suspension.
Based on the ruling of the arbitration panel, and because Pertamina rejected the verdict, KBC asked courts in the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore to order local banks to freeze the accounts of Pertamina.
In response, Pertamina filed a suit in the Central Jakarta district court in 2001 asking it to annul the Swiss arbitration.
KBC is controlled by U.S. companies FPL Energy and Caithness Energy. (robert/leo)