Govt undecided over SG saga
Govt undecided over SG saga
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has not yet decided if it would buy back shares
in publicly listed cement producer PT Semen Gresik (SG) from
Mexico-based cement giant Cemex SA to resolve a protracted
dispute over Cemex's investment in the state-owned company.
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-
Jakti said a proposal by some ministers and the Gresik management
for the government to reclaim its shares from Cemex had yet to be
discussed or decided.
"Up to this point, we haven't discussed nor decided any
out-of-court settlement options, including a decision to reclaim
our shares from Cemex," Dorodjatun announced on Wednesday.
Cemex has a 25.53 percent stake in Gresik while the government
has a 51.01 percent stake, with the remainder is held by private
investors.
Spokesman for the Office of the Coordinating Minister for the
Economy Mahendra Siregar said other ministers could propose such
an option, but any decision should be approved by the
privatization committee for state enterprises, which is headed by
Dorodjatun.
"The committee hasn't decided on any settlement options. Other
people should not claim that it has come out with a definite
resolution for the case," said Mahendra.
State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi has
previously said his office had appointed state pension fund PT
Jamsostek to help reclaim the government's shares in Cemex to
resolve the dispute.
Laksamana's proposal was supported by SG president director
Satriyo, who recently said that a buy-back option would have less
of a negative impact on the future operation of the company, and
would satisfy both Cemex and the government.
The dispute between the government and Cemex, the world's
third-largest cement producer, centers on the company's failure
to acquire a controlling stake in SG, as stipulated in an
acquisition agreement made in 1998 when the Mexican firm bought
the SG shares through a government privatization program.
Attempts to resolve this problem have been unsuccessful,
leaving Cemex's investment in limbo. The company has asked the
International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes
(ICSID) to act as an arbiter in its dispute with the government
and SG, Indonesia's largest cement producer.