Kideco optimistic to win in court battle against E. Kalimantan

Lawyers of coal producer PT Kideco Jaya Agung are optimistic that it would win its legal battle against the East Kalimantan provincial administration, one of the lawyer told Petromindo.com on Monday.

Kideco?s lawyer Fredrik J. Pinakunary said that last Friday they had provided 39 set of facts and evidences at the Balikpapan district court to support their argument, and that the court judges accepted them. Meanwhile, the East Kalimantan provincial administration provided only two facts.

He did not elaborate.

?We are optimistic that Kideco will win in the court,? Frederick said.

In April, the East Kalimantan provincial administration and Pasir regency administration filed a lawsuit against Kideco complaining that the firm had failed to offer its shares to the province. Kideco operates a huge coalmine in Pasir regency, which is part of East Kalimantan.

The local administrations demanded Kideco to pay a compensation in excess of US$300 million, and insisted that the court annul a previous divestment transaction,in which Kideco sold a 10 percent stake in 2001 to Indonesian investors.

The lawsuit prompted the central government to halt the process of selling the remainder 41 percent shares in Kideco.

Kideco is in the process of divesting 51 percent of its shares under its contractual obligations.

Kideco, one of Indonesia?s top coal producer, is a subsidiary of South Korean company Sam Tan Corp. (godang)