Tough negotiation between RI and Newmont
Saturday, June 6 2009 - 02:04 AM WIB
Bambang Gatot Ariyono, Director for Coal and Mineral Development at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said that the government and the firm were in tough negotiation on the value of the firm's assets. The valuation of the asset will be used to value the stake that the firm is obliged to divest 2008 and 2009.
?We target to reach an agreement at the initial negotiation. But if the agreement has not been reached, then we have to adhere to the contract mechanism. Let?s see on June 15 whether we can reach an agreement or not,? he told Bisnis Indonesia in Jakarta on Friday.
Bambang, who is also chairman of NNT assets assessment team, said that if the negotiation face a deadlock, the government would appoint an independent auditor to make an assessment and the assessment is to be completed within 30 days.
Earlier, NNT said its asset is worth US$4.97 billion this year. The value of the 7 percent it has to divest for 2008 is $348 million, while the value of the 7 percent it has to divest this year is $462 million.
The government, meanwhile, esimated that the firm's asset value for this year would not top $4 billion. (*)