PTBA refuses S. Sumatra?s request to buy stake

State-owned coal miner PT Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) has turned down the request from the South Sumatra provincial administration to acquire a stake in the company, Koran Tempo daily reported on Monday.

PTBA president director Ismet Harmaini said the 15 percent stake to be divested by PTBA was too small so that it would not be enough for all parties who had expressed interest to buy the stake.

?We can not fulfill their request because nothing more can be sold to the public,? Ismet said on Sunday.

Recently, South Sumatra governor Rosihan Arsyad and several provincial council members called on the central government to allocate a portion of the 15 percent stake in PTBA to the province.

The central government has planned to divest PTBA shares through an initial public offering (IPO) in the local bourses this month. Earlier reports said that another 20 percent stake would be sold via Canadian stock market.

Nine foreign and local investors have reportedly expressed interest to buy a stake in PTBA.

The foreign investors include AIG Investment from Singapore, Phaim Asset Management (Singapore), Indocam Asset Management (Hongkong), Fidelity Investment (Hongkong), Tenaga Nasional Bhd (Malaysia) and Kideco Jaya Agung (Korea). Meanwhile, the local investors are Taspen, Dana Pensiun Perkebunan and Schroeder Investment Management.

PTBA owns a huge coal mining concession in South Sumatra?s Muara Enim regency, and also owns a concession in West Sumatra. It produced 10.2 million tons of coal in 2001. (*)