Toba Sejahtera ready to take over Inalum
Wednesday, December 7 2011 - 02:52 AM WIB
Speaking to journalists in Jakarta on Tuesday, Luhut said that Toba Sejahtera would cooperate with local companies in taking over Inalum. He said that he had met the finance minister and the President to express the interest to take over Inalum.
?There is no problem for us to go through a tender process, but we should be given the right to match because we will coopreate with local companies in the take over,? he added.
Luhut said that PT Toba Sejahtera had received committments from several banks including BNP Paribas and Deutche Bank to finance the acquisition of the Japanese consortium?s 58.88 percent shares in Inalum. He said that the bank had promised to provide up to $600 million for the acquisition.
According to Luhut, the company will also use its own funds to partly finance the acquisition which is expected to cost the company about $700 million.
Luhut said that Toba Sejehtera would cooperate with the authorities of nine regencies located near the Inalum?s plant in the acquisition. The regencies will establish their own companies to represent them in the joint venture with Toba Sejahtera.
Inalum, which operates the only aluminum smelting plant in Southeast Asia in North Sumtara, was established in 1976 under a cooperation between the Indonesian government and its Japanese consortium.
According to the agreement, the Indonesian government had the option of taking over Inalum when the contract expired in 2013. The smelter commenced operation in 1983 and produces 250,000 tons of aluminum ingots per annum.
The Indonesian government currently has a 41.12 percent stake in Inalum, while NAA, a consortium of 12 Japanese companies including Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., Sumitomo Shoji Kaisha Ltd., Mitsui Aluminium Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation, holds 58.88 percent.
Recently, the Japanese consortium expressed its willingness to keep its stake in the company. However, the government said it would not renew the consortium?s contract and would instead take over the consortium?s share ownership in 2013 when the contract ended. (giok)