Newmont mulls to IPO: Report

In a bid to settle dispute over its divestment program, copper and gold miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT), an Indonesian unit of U.S mining giant Newmont Corp., plans to sell its stake to the public through the bourse, Bisnis Indonesia daily reported on Monday.

An executive of the company had met the executives of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) to discuss the plan, the newspaper quoted a source as saying, adding that firm would offer a maximum of 49 percent of its stake.

"If IPO (Initial Public Offering) materializes, the value may be very high because the price of gold is higher than other commodities, like coal. The condition is very influential to valuation of listing companies,? said the source.

However, President Director of BEI Erry Firmansyah said that he has not known the plan and denied that the NNT executives had met the bourse's management.

NNT?s senior legal advisor M. Kasmali confirmed the plan and the meeting between the management of NNT and the leaders of the Capital Market Supervisory and Financial Institution.

"The current condition is not supportive of NNT's operations. Thus, we try to seek other possible solutions, including IPO, to prevent more disputes,? he said.

NNT, which obtained its contract of works to operate a copper and gold mine in Batu Hijau, West Nusa Tenggara in 1986, is required to divest up to 51 percent of its shares to the government or Indonesian companies by 2010. By the end of 2007, the company should have divested 10 percent of its shares as part of the mandatory divestment program.

However, none of the shares have been divested, prompting the government to file an international arbitration against the firm.

Currently, NNT?s shareholders are Newmont Mining Corp (45 percent), local company PT Pukuafu Indah (PI) (20 percent) and a consortium led by Japan's Sumitomo (35 percent). (*)