KPC says three investors eye its stake

Coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal, which operates a giant coal mining company in Sangatta, East Kalimantan said it had received proposals from three investors who are interested in buying a 51 percent stake in the company, East Kalimantan-based Kaltim Post daily reported on Friday.

KPC?s spokesperson Nunik Maharani Maulana described the investors as ?serious buyers? but she refused to reveal their identities.

?They have submitted written statements on their intention to buy (the stake),? Nunik said.

The three investors have to compete with the East Kalimantan provincial administration, which has teamed up with PT Intan Bumi Inti Perdana to buy the stake. The province, which has become the sole interested buyer for several years, has tried many ways, including filing a lawsuit against the company, to pressurize KPC to sell the 51 percent stake at the price set by the province.

KPC earlier said it would not prioritize any parties in its divestment program.

Under the contract signed by the company and the Indonesian government in 1980s, KPC, which is equally owned by Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and Anglo-American energy firm BP PLC, is obligated to divest up to 51 percent of its stake to either the Indonesian government, state companies, Indonesians-controlled private companies or Indonesian citizens after ten years of production.

But, the central government, the East Kalimantan provincial administration and the company have thus far failed to reach an agreement on the price for the stake.

The central government has indicated that it might hire an independent consultant to value the stake -- a measure which has also been agreed upon by KPC.

But, the East Kalimantan province refused to accept the solution and preferred to sue the coal company at the South Jakarta District Court for intentionally delaying the sale of its stake. (*)