Govt appoints consultant to value KPC stake
Govt appoints consultant to value KPC stake
JAKARTA (JP): The government has appointed a consultant to
appraise the value of the 51 percent stake in East Kalimantan-
based coal mining firm PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) on offer for
divestment.
The director general of geology and mineral resources at the
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Wimpy S. Tjetjep,
confirmed the appointment of the consultant saying that it should
speed up the protracted negotiation over KPC's share price.
"We have good will here ... We hope it (the negotiation) can
be finished by the end of next month," he told the Jakarta Post.
Wimpy, however, refused to name the consultant, but an
official at the East Kalimantan provincial administration said
the consultant was Kemal Syamsuddin.
According to Wimpy, if the price could not be agreed upon in
September, the negotiation would take longer because KPC
shareholders, Rio Tinto of Australia and Beyond Petroleum of
Britain, planned to offer a new price in October.
Under its contract of works, KPC shareholders are required to
divest a 51 percent stake in the company to a local entity this
year.
The East Kalimantan provincial administration is the only
party who has bid for the stake.
However, there is still a wide gap between the bid and the
price offered for the stake, with KPC shareholders wanting to
sell the stake at $448.8 million and the East Kalimantan
administration bargaining at $319 million.
The appointment of an independent appraiser should help bridge
the gap. However, the appointment of Kemal Syamsuddin was not
done in consultation with KPC shareholders.
Rio Tinto spokeswoman Nunik Maulana said her party welcomed
the government initiative, but said that the company had no clear
plan as yet to work with the government consultant.
Nunik said that KPC shareholders would continue negotiations
with the East Kalimantan administration on Friday.
KPC, which operates a huge coal mine in Sangatta, Kutai Timur
regency, produces an average of 50,000 tons of coal a day and 15
million tons a year. (iwa)