Sudirman: 2016 will continue to be a tough year for coal industry

By Adianto P. Simamora

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said projected that 2016 will continue to be a tough year for coal mining companies as price and market demand are expected to remain subdued.

?The 2016 outlook for the mining sector (coal and mineral) would still be quite difficult. We don?t see significant changes in this sector. In terms of investment, we must also be realistic as this sector is still not attractive for new investors (in next year),? he said during an interview with Petromindo.com on Thursday at this office.

The ministry has targeted investment in the mining sector -- both mineral and coal -- to reach US$6.1 billion in 2015. As of November, the realized investment stood at $5.15 billion.

Sudirman said that the coal mining companies should continue on taking cost efficiency measures to make them more competitive in the market.

The government coal reference price (HBA) hit the lowest ever figure at US$53.51 per ton FOB in December 2015, compared to $63.84 per ton FOB in January.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak