RI, Japan resume negotiation over Inalum

The Indonesian and Japanese negotiation teams are scheduled to resume talks today over the remaining issues regarding the transfer of a 58.8 percent shares in PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) to the government, Investor Daily reported on Wednesday.

The paper quoted Minister of Industry MS Hidayat as saying that the Japanese side was still willing to push for negotiation to resolve the remaining problems instead of going to the international arbitration panel as earlier planned. ?The Japanese side has yet to file the Inalum case with the arbitration. They still want to hold dialogue,? Hidayat said.

Nippon Asahan Aluminium (NAA) contract, signed in 1975, in running the North Sumabra-based aluminum giant Inalum expired late last month. The company was supposed to hand over the 58.8 percent shares in Inalum to the government, which owns the remaining shares by the deadline. But both sides have been engaged in prolonged negotiations mainly regarding the share transfer value.

The two sides had finally agreed on the share transfer value of US$558 million, but the government wanted the value to be subject to audit, which was rejected by NAA. (*)