PLN wants less than 51 percent stake in KPC

State electricity company PT PLN said on Monday it had applied to the government to buy a stake in East Kalimantan-based coal mining giant PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) but it did not want all the 51 percent, Reuters news agency reported.

?We have proposed to buy a stake in KPC but we don?t want the majority just a portion,? PLN president director Eddie Widiono told a parliamentary energy commission. He did not specify how much PLN would apply to buy.

?We believe by buying a KPC stake it will give us good gains in the future,? Eddie said without elaborating.

KPC is set to sell by late June 51 percent of its shares to Indonesian investors, and the share divestment follows the government divestment rules.

PLN is among several state and private companies which had expressed interest to buy KPC shares. The other state firms include coal miner PT Batubara Bukit Asam, and tin miner PT Tambang Timah Tbk. Meanwhile, the private investors include PT Nusantara Energy, PT Borneo Batubara Batuah, and PT Bumi Resources Tbk.

The government recently decided three categories of buyers to acquire the 51 percent shares of KPC namely state companies, private firms and East Kalimantan provincial administration.

The government and KPC shareholders Rito Tinto and BP Plc agreed in March on a US$822 million valuation of the entire KPC operation.

KPC began operations in 1992 and has an annual output of about 15 million tons of coal, exporting substantial volumes to South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

The company operates a huge coalmine in Sangatta in East Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan. (*)