Newmont's chairman meets Gus Dur, discussing autonomy

Foreign investors have reasserted their expectation that the Indonesian government, at central as well as regional level abides by its commitments as stated in agreements with foreign parties.

The chief of the Newmont Mining Corporation, Ronald Cambre, made a statement to that effect at the Bina Graha presidential office on Friday, after a meeting with President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Cambre made the statement in relation with the start of the implementation of the regional autonomy as of next year, Antara news agency reported.

According to Cambre, foreign investors would not interfere in the revenue sharing between the central and regional government.

The Newmont Mining Corporation has two subsidiaries in Indonesia, namely the Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) in North Sulawesi and PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) in Nusa Tenggara. Both are involved in gold and copper mining.

Just recently, the Newmont Minahasa got entangled with the local administration, which demanded a bigger share in the revenue sharing with the central government.

On being asked to comment on the security condition across the country, Cambre expressed his confidence that the government would be able to overcome the problems.

Cambre said, President Wahid has called on foreign investors to step up patience in connection with the transitional nature of the current security and political situation. (*)