Prijadi says Guthrie transaction final<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Finance Minister Prijadi Praptosuhardjo
\nreiterated on Tuesday that the sale of 25 palm oil plantations by
\nthe Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) to Malaysia's
\nKumpulan Guthrie Bhd. was already final.<\/p>\n
Prijadi made the statement following earlier reports quoting
\nfarmers association top officials as saying that Vice President
\nMegawati Sukarnoputri wanted the transaction to be renegotiated.<\/p>\n
\"(The transaction) is final. What can be further negotiated
\nis Guthrie's commitment to the local community. But the price of
\nthe sale is final,\" Prijadi told reporters.<\/p>\n
Prijadi did not provide details.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Association of Farmers (HKTI) executive Bambang
\nWarih told reporters on Monday following a meeting with Megawati
\nthat the sale of the palm oil plantations to Guthrie was not yet
\nfinal.<\/p>\n
Bambang quoted Megawati as saying that the Vice President
\nwould hold the deal for further negotiations.<\/p>\n
But a government source said that the HKTI executive had
\nmisquoted Megawati. The source also said that the proceeds from
\nthe Guthrie deal had been transferred from an escrow account to
\nthe IBRA account.<\/p>\n
Guthrie won the deal last year through a competitive bid,
\npaying some US$368 million to IBRA for the palm oil plantations
\nand taking over Rp 500 billion of the plantation companies'
\ndebts.<\/p>\n
But the HKTI and some legislators had demanded the government
\ncancel the transaction for various reasons, including lack of
\ntransparency and preserving national interest. Indonesia is the
\nworld's second largest producer of crude palm oil after Malaysia.<\/p>\n
HKTI chairman Siswono Yudohusodo insisted that if the deal
\nwent through, Guthrie should abide by local regulations.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the obligation of large plantations to
\ndevelop them under the so-called nucleus-estate scheme where only
\n30 percent of the plantation area is held by the company, with
\nthe remaining 70 percent owned by smallholders under a credit
\nprogram funded by the company.<\/p>\n
Under the scheme, smallholders repay their loans using the
\nsales income from their produce that is sold to the company.<\/p>\n
IBRA received some 262,000 hectares of palm oil plantations
\nfrom the Salim Group as part of the repayment of the latter's
\ndebt to the government.<\/p>\n
Canceling the Guthrie transaction would further damage
\ninvestor confidence in the economy. IBRA has already been
\ncriticized for its slowness in the sale of its assets.<\/p>\n
IBRA is also expected to help strengthen the ailing rupiah by
\nselling its dollars obtained from the asset sale. (rei)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prijadi-says-guthrie-transaction-final-1447893297",
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