Timah likely to bid for Kideco shares

State tin miner PT Timah Tbk said Wednesday it had interest to acquire shares of coal miner Kideco Jaya Agung which is in the process to divest about 41 percent of its shares to Indonesian-owned entities.

?We have received notification from Kideco on its divestment program and I think we will make use of that opportunity," Timah?s president Thobrani Alwi told Petromindo.Com.

Timah now has a strong presence in the coal mining business after acquiring entire shares of PT Tanjung Alam Jaya, a mining company that has concession in Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan.

Kideco's coal contract of work obliges it to gradually divest 51 percent of its shares to Indonesian investors after 10 years of commercial production. Kideco had managed to sell 10 percent shares to two Indonesian companies namely PT Sumber Mitra Jaya and PT Muji Inti Utama, which got 5 percent each.

Kideco?s managing director Kim Sung Kook confirmed earlier that its financial advisor BNP Paribas had issued a letter to offer 41 percent of Kideco shares to 19 entities.

Meanwhile, state coal miner PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (PTBA) told Petromindo.Com Wednesday it would likely to let pass on Kideco?s offer.

?What we are looking in Kideco is an opportunity to become a majority shareholder,? said PTBA?s president Ismet Harmaini.

Kideco operates a huge coalmine in Pasir Regency, East Kalimantan, with production capacity of 15 million tons per annum. Kideco is a subsidiary of South Korea?s Sam Tan Corp.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, which represents central government and Kideco have agreed on a $365 million valuation of the entire shares of the company. (alex)