PT Artha Daya appointed to manage state coal sales<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Directorate General of Mining has appointed
\nPT Artha Daya Coalindo to handle sales of coal which the
\ngovernment receives from private coal mining contractors.<\/p>\n
Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana approved the
\ncompany's appointment in a confidential letter dated Dec. 12.
\n1997 -- a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post by
\nan anonymous source yesterday.<\/p>\n
Artha Daya's appointment was proposed to the minister by
\ndirector general of mining Adjat Sudradjat last November.<\/p>\n
Sudjana said in the letter he would approve Artha Daya's
\nappointment for several reasons, including that the firm was an
\naffiliate of PT Pembangkitan Listrik Jawa-Bali 1 (PJB 1), which
\nis a subsidiary of the state electricity company PLN.<\/p>\n
Another reason was that the government wanted to use its coal
\nshare to \"guarantee the supply of coal to the country's power
\nplants,\" Sudjana said.<\/p>\n
PJB 1 spokesperson Rulyati told the Post yesterday that Artha
\nDaya was an affiliate of PJB 1 but the Ministry of Justice had
\nyet to approve the establishment of the new company.<\/p>\n
\"Some shareholders of the company have not yet invested their
\nequity,\" she said without identifying the shareholders.<\/p>\n
According to the existing law, coal mining contractors are
\nrequired to hand over 13.5 percent of their coal output to the
\ngovernment as concessionary fees and royalties.<\/p>\n
The coal is sold on the domestic market.<\/p>\n
Previously, the government assigned the state coal mining
\ncompany PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam to conduct the trading of
\nits coal share and transfer the proceeds to the government.<\/p>\n
But Sudjana sparked a controversy two years ago when he
\nordered the company to transfer the revenue to his official
\naccount.<\/p>\n
He argued that Bukit Asam had never transferred the money to
\nthe government but instead used it inefficiently.<\/p>\n
Bukit Asam defied the minister's order, saying it would only
\ntransfer the funds to the minister of finance, the nominee
\nshareholder in the country's state companies, instead of the
\nminister of mines and energy.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto issued a decree later that year revoking
\nBukit Asam's appointment and ordering all private coal mining
\ncontractors to give the government's coal share to the Ministry
\nof Finance in coal or in cash.<\/p>\n
Adjat issued a decree on Sept. 11, 1997 instructing all coal
\nmining contractors to deliver the government's coal share to the
\ngovernment in cash.<\/p>\n
But, the decree was only effective for about three months as
\nAdjat's latest instruction has called on all private coal
\ncontractors to deliver the government's coal share to Artha Daya
\nin line with the company's appointment as the sole trader in the
\ngovernment's coal share.<\/p>\n
A copy of the letter of instruction was also made available to
\nThe Post.<\/p>\n
In the letter, Adjat said that by issuing the letter of
\ninstruction he revoked his decree dated Sept. 11, 1997.<\/p>\n
Coal mining contractors who wanted to remain anonymous said
\nthey would not suffer any losses from the new arrangement.<\/p>\n
They were only concerned that the government would get less
\nrevenue from the sale of its coal share because Artha Daya would
\nsell the coal on the domestic market, while mining contractors
\ncan export it and transfer the proceeds to the government.<\/p>\n
They also said there was currently enough coal on the domestic
\nmarket that the government did not need to supply all its coal
\nshare to the domestic market. (jsk)<\/p>",
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