~Advertorial --- Inco: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005

~Advertorial --- Inco: Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005

Growing together with community

Growing together with community in which a mining company operates is key to operating successfully in Indonesia.

"Any natural resource-based companies like mining firms should not separate themselves from the environment and community living near their operation sites. However, they should show concern on problems faced by locals if they want to win support from them, "said publicly-listed PT International Nickel Indonesia (Inco) President and Chief Executive Officer Bing Tobing.

A company that fulfills its obligations, such as paying royalty, taxes and land rental was good but it is not enough to ensure that it can operate peacefully, according to Bing.

"For us, adapting our presence to local environment and community is a requirement when we want to grow. Only by growing together locals, we can operate peacefully," he said.

To help locals grow, he said, the company designed and conducted many community development (CD) programs based on what locals need. "For instance, many young people are currently in need of a job, so our CD program is focused on education to allow them to have more alternatives of job," he said.

Bing also emphasized the importance of socializing any change of policy made by the company's management, such as a policy on job vacancies or employee recruitment. "By socializing the change of policy, possible unexpected incidents such as demonstration can be prevented because locals understand the reasons," he said.

PT Inco spends about US$1.5 million on CD programs per year. The fund is used to finance CD projects related to, among others, education, health and agriculture sector in Sorowako, Central Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.