Rising coal price benefits state coffer

The current rising coal price trend has also benefitted the government as it is likely to exceed the 2017 non-tax revenue (PNBP) target from coal and mineral sector.

Director of Coal and Mineral Revenue at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Jonson Pakpahan was quoted by Kontan as saying Friday that as per end of October this year, non-tax revenue from the sector has reached Rp 31.4 trillion, or 96.91 percent of the full-year target of Rp 32.4 trillion as set in the 2017 state budget.

He said that coal the HBA coal reference price in the January-November 2017 period averaged US$94.8 per ton, higher than the $75 per ton assumption when the PNBP target was planned.

Revenue from coal accounts for about 80 percent of the PNBP.

Jonson said that the 2017 PNBP target is likely to be exceeded. Despite the strong performance this year, the government plans to slightly lower the 2018 PNBP target to Rp 32.09 trillion as coal production target next year will also be reduced to 406 million tons from 413 million tons target this year. The HBA coal price assumption for next year will be set at $80 per ton. (*)