Bakrie sells coal stake

Bakrie sells coal stake

SYDNEY, Australia (AP): PT Bakrie Brothers, BHP's Indonesian coal mining partner, plans to sell its 20 percent stake in the PT Arutmin Indonesian joint venture for around US$50 million, The Australian newspaper said Monday.

Bakrie treasurer Arun Bathia said due diligence was being carried out on the Kalimantan thermal coal operations by four interested parties, the paper said.

Two of those parties are said to be international operators, the newspaper said.

"It has been on the block for quite a few weeks but we haven't finalized the sale yet," Bathia was quoted as saying.

BHP, which owns the remaining 80 percent of PT Arutmin, was not believed to be among the parties bidding for the stake, the report said.