Long Haul Holdings sells 5 percent of BUMI stake

JSX-listed Indonesian top coal producer PT. Bumi Resources Tbk. (BUMI) said on Tuesday its major shareholder Long Haul Holdings Limited had sold 1 billion of BUMI’s shares or 5.15 percent of the company’s shares to several institutions from Europe, USA and Asia.

Bumi said with the sale, Long Haul’s shares in BUMI declined from 60.23 percent to 55.28 percent

BUMI’s shares were suspended from trading on Tuesday because JSX considered the company did not fully disclose “material transaction” which caused the company’s share price to fluctuate significantly. BUMI’s share price had increased from Rp 185 early last week to Rp 285 prior to the suspension, with foreign securities buying heavily.

In response to JSX query, Bumi said the reason for the steep increase in the company’s share price was due to the fact that the company had held meetings with foreign investors on December 2-5 explaining the company’s future after the acquisition of PT Kalimantan Prima Coal (KPC) from BP Plc and Rio Tinto. The company suggested that foreign investors were convinced about the company’s prospect and began to buy company’s shares, which caused price to increase significantly. (alex)