Local investors to help Papua to buy 9.35 percent stake in PT Freeport for $700 million

Papuan provincial administration said it had been offered helps by four to five investors to realize its plan of purchasing a 9.35 percent stake in gold and copper producer PT Freeport Indonesia for US$700 million, the Kompas and the Bisnis Indonesia newspaper reported in their Friday edition.

All the investors are from Indonesia.

Papua Governor J.P. Salossa said after a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday that partnership with other investors was necessary as his administration was unable buy stake in Freeport on its own.

?The value of the shares is so huge and the provincial administration is unable to buy all the shares. That?s why, Papua administration will cooperate with the prospective investors,? Salossa said.

However, he didn?t disclose the identity of all the investors except one.

? I don?t remember all the names of the investors. But there is one. ie Bhakti Investama. We are still negotiating with the investors,? he said.

Salossa said that he had notified the energy and mineral resource ministry about the purchasing plan.

"The purchase of Freeport shares will be done normally on the basis of business-to-business. It must be carried out professionally.? Salossa said. (*)