Bid loser wins tankers tender<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Pertamina tanker scandal became murkier on Monday when a
\ndocument surfaced indicating the state company was in the process
\nof selling two supertankers to a company that did not win the
\ntender process.<\/p>\n
The document, which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, showed
\nthat Bermuda-based Frontline Ltd., to whom Pertamina is selling
\nthe tankers, finished second in a tender conducted by
\ninternational consultant Goldman Sachs. The top bidder, according
\nto the document, was Essar Shipping Ltd., a unit of the Indonian
\nEssar Group based in Mumbai.<\/p>\n
\"The evaluation by Goldman Sachs of the bid proposals
\nshorlisted three firms, which, based on highest weighting, are as
\nfollows: Essar Shipping Limited, Frontline Ltd. and Overseas
\nShipholding Group Inc.,\" the document said.<\/p>\n
Otto Geo Diwara, chairman of Pertamina's union, confirmed the
\ncontents of the document.<\/p>\n
\"Our investigation suggests that Frontline is not the real
\nwinner. This is a case of high-level corruption and collusion,\"
\nOtto told the Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
A source said Essar offered a bid price of US$188 million for
\nthe two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), higher than the $184
\nmillion bid by Frontline.<\/p>\n
The sale of the tankers to Frontline is in progress and the
\ncompany has made a down payment on the tankers, which are being
\nbuilt by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea.<\/p>\n
Despite the document, Pertamina president director Ariffi
\nNawawi insisted on Monday that Frontline won the bid, not Essar.<\/p>\n
\"Frontline is the top bidder. There is no other company,\"
\nAriffi said after being questioned by the government-sanctioned
\nCorruption Elimination Commission (KPK).<\/p>\n
He refused to provide details of the tender process.<\/p>\n
Otto alleged that the sale of the two giant tankers was not
\ntransparent from the beginning, saying Pertamina had directly
\nappointed Goldman Sachs as the consultant on the tender, rather
\nthan selecting a consultant through a bidding process.<\/p>\n
He also pointed to the possibility of collusion in choosing
\nFrontline as the winner of the tender, saying Goldman Sachs is a
\nshareholder in the shipping company.<\/p>\n
Frontline says on its website that its shareholders include
\nGoldman Sachs Intern Equity Nontreaty Cus and Goldman, which have
\na 0.95 percent (698,211 shares) and 0.92 percent (679,572 shares)
\nshare in the firm respectively.<\/p>\n
\"It is a conflict of interest. Goldman is a consultant to the
\nbid but also has shares in the winner of the bid,\" Otto said.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the KPK summoned Pertamina's Ariffi Nawawi and the
\nhead of the tanker divestment team, Andri Hidayat, to clarify the
\ntanker sale.<\/p>\n
After the questioning, Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, KPK's deputy
\nchairman, said the commission had yet to find any indications of
\ncorruption or collusion in the sale, but added the KPK would
\nsummon members of Pertamina's former management team to get more
\ninformation.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Erry said the KPK had thus far found no evidence
\nindicating Pertamina paid for a recent trip to South Korea and
\nHong Kong by members of House of Representatives Commission VIII
\nfor energy and mining affairs, despite a leaked memo suggesting
\nPertamina footed the bill.<\/p>\n
\"The memo was from the (Pertamina) shipping general manager to
\na travel agency, which turned out to be a Pertamina subsidiary.
\nBut Pertamina did not pay for the trip,\" Erry said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bid-loser-wins-tankers-tender-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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