Three investors make public expose on plan to buy KPC shares
Saturday, July 6 2002 - 04:34 AM WIB
They were PT Intan Bumi Inti Pradana (IBIP), PT Centralink and state coal miner PT Bukit Asam (PTBA).
KPC and the central government recently agreed to sell 51 percent of KPC shares no later than July 31, 2002, to state enterprises, Indonesian private investors and East Kalimantan.
Friday?s public expose was the second of such meeting. Another four investors presented their plans to buy KPC shares in Sangatta in mid-April. They were PT Nusantara Energy, PT Bumi Resources Tbk, PT Batubara Borneo Batuah and PT E-Capital Sekuritas.
Intan chief commissioner Mutojib said in Friday?s meeting that his company was willing to hand over to East Kalimantan provincial administration 20 percent of the 51 percent shares if it succeeds to buy them. He added local government officials would be given a commissioner seat in KPC if Intan gets the 51 percent shares.
Mutojib, former Tanjungpura military commander in charge of East Kalimantan, further said that Intan would not bid for KPC shares if it was allowed to get less than the 51 percent stake.
East Kutai regent Awang Faroek Ishak said Intan?s was the most interesting offer compared with what was promised by Centralink and PTBA.
Centralink promised in the public expose meting to turn over to East Kalimantan 17 percent of the 51 percent of KPC shares. Meanwhile, PTBA gave no commitment.
KPC, equally owned by world energy giants Rio Tinto and BP Plc, operates a huge coalmine in Sangatta in East Kutai, East Kalimantan.
Its contract obliges it to sell 51 percent of its shares to Indonesian parties after 10 years commercial operation. It started commercial operation in 1992. (*)