Ministerial team on KPC holds first meeting

The newly formed inter-ministerial team tasked with accelerating the settlement of the dispute over the divestment of 51 percent stake in coal mining giant PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) held its first meeting on Wednesday.

The team comprises representatives of government agencies including the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Finance, the office of the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs and the office of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, said Nurwinakun who heads the law and public relations bureau of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

?We expect that with the formation of the team the divestment of KPC shares will be completed soon. It has now become a national issue,? Nurwinakun told reporters after its Wednesday meeting.

Nurwinakun declined to give the details of the meeting.

KPC and the government last week agreed to extend to June 30 the deadline to offer a 51 percent stake in the company. KPC had earlier agreed to sell the stake by March 31, but it had delayed its plan because the East Kalimantan provincial administration refused to withdraw its lawsuit against it. The province insists to be treated as preferred buyer.

Meanwhile, KPC?s laywer Todung Mulya Lubis said on Wednesday it will refuse to divest the 51 percent stake if the East Kalimantan administration breaches its promise to withdraw the legal suit it had filed at the South Jakarta district court against the company.

Lubis added: ?If the lawsuit is not withdrawn before the divestment deadline, no investor would feel interested to buy KPC shares which had been held by the court.?

Equally owned by Rio Tinto and BP, KPC currently operates a vast mining site in Sangatta in East Kutai Regency in East Kalimantan. (Godang)