Gresik privatization deadline extended<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Today's deadline for the second round of bidding
\nfor the government's stake in publicly listed Semen Gresik has
\nbeen extended, a senior official said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Sofyan Djalil, a deputy state minister of the empowerment of
\nstate enterprises, said that the earlier divestment formula which
\nwould allow foreign companies to become a majority shareholder in
\nthe cement company had to be modified to satisfy the public.<\/p>\n
He said a new deadline could not be set yet because the first
\nformula had to be revised following strong objections from the
\npublic to foreign control of Semen Gresik.<\/p>\n
\"We have to renegotiate the changes with the foreign bidders,
\nespecially Cemex which has already won the first bid,\" he told
\nThe Jakarta Post yesterday.<\/p>\n
Mexico's Cemex SA de CV won the first bid last month by
\noffering US$287 million for a 35 percent stake in Semen Gresik.<\/p>\n
Germany's Heilderberger Zement AG, Switzerland's Holderbank,
\nand France's Laferge Asia Pacific plan to top Cemex's offer in
\nthe second round of bidding, the deadline for which was initially
\nscheduled for today.<\/p>\n
Cemex, however, will have the opportunity to top any new bid
\nwithin five days.<\/p>\n
The winning strategic investor has the right to purchase
\nanother 16 percent stake in Semen Gresik through a tender offer
\nmechanism in the local stock market to become the majority
\nstockholder.<\/p>\n
This formula, however, was strongly objected to by the people
\nof the West Sumatra. They demanded that Semen Gresik's wholly
\nowned subsidiary, PT Semen Padang, must be dropped from the
\nprivatization scheme if the government proceeds with the plan.<\/p>\n
The West Sumatran people control the land where Semen Padang's
\nfacilities are located.<\/p>\n
Semen Gresik is the first state-owned company to be put up for
\nsale in the current fiscal year ending March 1999. A total of 12
\nstate-owned companies are being prepared for privatization to
\nraise a total of $1.5 billion to help finance the state budget
\nwhich is heavily burdened by huge subsidy commitments to help the
\npoor survive the country's worst economic crisis in three
\ndecades. (rei)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gresik-privatization-deadline-extended-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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