Pertamina to acquire Bob Hasan's stake in Tugu Pratama

State owned oil and gas company Pertamina will acquire all Bob Hasan's 35 percent stake in PT Tugu Pratama in a bid to cleanse the loss insurance company from former president Soeharto's cronies, Neraca reported on Tuesday.

Pertamina's finance director Ainun Naim said that he hoped the acquisition of Bob Hasan's shares in the company could be completed within the next three months. "We will try to buy Bob Hasan's shares as cheap as possible. If possible, we will buy them at zero rupiah," he added.

He acknowledged that Bob Hasan's offering prices for his shares in the insurance companies were too expensive given the condition of the company's cash flow and management.

Ainun said that it would be impossible for Bob Hasan to ask a market price of his shares which he allegedly obtained through corruption, collusion and cronism, or more pupularly called with its local acronym of KKN.

Tugu Pratama, which was established in 1970, is the country's largest loss insurance company in the oil and gas sector. The company, which previously had an exclusive rights to handle Pertamina's insurance needs, is 35 percent owned by Bob Hasan, 45 percent by Pertamina and 20 percent by Pertamina's pension fund.

Bob Hasan, and children of Soeharto are now being investigated by Attorney General Office for their alleged involvement in the KKN practices in the state oil company, which was in the past known as the symbol of the corruption in the country.

"If Bob Hasan is found guilty, we have a stronger reason to press the price of his shares at zero rupiah," he added. (*)