Tambang Timah to buy 30% stake in Prima Coal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed state tin company PT Tambang
\nTimah said on Wednesday it planned to buy a 30 percent stake in
\nthe country's largest coal mining company, PT Kaltim Prima Coal
\n(KPC).<\/p>\n
The president of Timah, Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, said the
\ncompany was currently negotiating the proposed purchase and
\nconducting a due diligence with Kaltim Prima, owned by British
\nPetroleum and Australian mining company Rio Tinto.<\/p>\n
Erry said the deal was expected to conclude by the middle of
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
\"The process is still ongoing, and hopefully an agreement will
\nbe reached on the possibility of buying a 30 percent stake (in
\nKaltim Prima),\" Erry said after the company's general and
\nextraordinary shareholders meeting.<\/p>\n
He also said Timah planned to acquire a stake in another
\nmining company by the middle of this year, but he declined to
\nname the company, saying it was still confidential.<\/p>\n
The planned acquisitions are part of Timah's strategy to
\ndiversify its business into \"mineral mining sectors other than
\ntin\". These sectors includes gold, coal and diamonds, he said.<\/p>\n
The company is also conducting \"greenfield explorations\" for
\nminerals other than tin, and has also established cooperation
\nagreements with foreign companies to further its explorations, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Timah has set up a joint venture firm, PT Kutaraja Tembaga
\nRaya, with United States-based Phelps Dodge Australasia Inc. to
\nexplore for gold and other minerals in Aceh, northern Sumatra.<\/p>\n
At Wednesday's meeting, Timah's shareholders approved the
\ncompany's proposal to distribute 40 percent of its net profit in
\n1998 as cash dividends. The cash dividends will total Rp 205.88
\nbillion (US$22.87 million).<\/p>\n
The dividends will be Rp 409 per share, a sharp increase from
\nthe Rp 141 per share paid out to shareholders last year.<\/p>\n
The company also plans to use Rp 308.83 billion of its net
\nprofits as cash reserves. These reserves will be used for
\nbusiness expansion and diversification.<\/p>\n
Timah's consolidated net profit rose by 192 percent last year
\nto Rp 518.83 billion due to the sharp depreciation of the rupiah
\nagainst the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
The company, one of the world's major tin mining companies,
\noperates 33 large-scale inland mines on Bangka Island, South
\nSumatra. It also operates seven fixed furnaces and five
\ncrystallizers to process the tin ore.<\/p>\n
Its tin metal production rose last year by 1.87 percent to
\n43,418 tons.<\/p>\n
Erry said the company expected to produce a similar amount of
\ntin this year.<\/p>\n
During Wednesday's meeting, shareholders also approved the
\ncompany's proposal to replace commissioners P.H. Silitonga, Dibyo
\nKuntjoro and B.L Noormandiri with Yogo Pratono, Brig. Gen.
\n(retired) Moelyadi and Waryono Karno.<\/p>\n
Erry, whose tenure ended this year, was reinstated as the
\ncompany's president.<\/p>\n
Tambang Timah is one of the 10 state-owned firms that the
\ngovernment, which owns a 65 percent stake in the company, plans
\nto privatize during the 1999\/2000 fiscal year. The privatizations
\nare expected to raise Rp 13 trillion to help finance the state
\nbudget. (das)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tambang-timah-to-buy-30-stake-in-prima-coal-1447893297",
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