Govt-Cemex agreement

Govt-Cemex agreement

The article Govt's court battle with Cemex looms in The
Jakarta Post on Feb. 16 prompted me to offer some comments. I
have followed this story ever since the government considered an
amicable out-of-court settlement.

The government decided to reconsider its challenge against
Cemex through arbitration proceedings. I do not know the exact
contents of the sale and purchase agreement between the
government and Cemex, but the news suggests that the agreement in
question and the dispute arose because of a bias in favor of
Cemex. Since the arbitration proceedings would take place under
foreign jurisdiction, it would be unlikely for us to win the
case.

Affirmatively, if the government has no further options for an
amicable settlement with Cemex and proceeds to arbitration, an
award would likely be forthcoming in favor of Cemex. But due to
fierce opposition by some members of the House of
Representatives, the government would be reluctant to pay the
award, possibly over US$500 million, while Cemex would have no
option but to attach whatever government assets were available
abroad. That is the worst scenario I can imagine.

As a taxpayer, in order to avoid giving the country a bad
image and suffering more losses, I would suggest the government
continue its efforts to find a win-win solution, while also
obtaining additional legal opinions from our prominent lawyers
rather than just following the voices of legislators saying our
position is legally strong.

RIDJANI NOER, Jakarta