Janeman Latul & Dion Bisara

PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara's Batu Hijau mine. (Photo: Reva Sasistiya, JG)

Indonesia Selects Antam to Take Newmont Stake

The government said on Tuesday that it has appointed state-owned gold and copper miner, PT Aneka Tambang, to take a 14 percent stake in miner PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, a unit of US-based Newmont.

The decision, announced by the chief economic minister, ends months of speculation about whether the central government would be involved in the purchase of the shares, or would hand over the process to a coalition of local administrations backed by an affiliate of the politically connected Bakrie group.

“The central government’s interests will be represented by the state-owned enterprise PT Antam,” said Hatta Rajasa, coordinating minister for the economy.

“The Energy Ministry is handling the process now. The main principle is that every interest will be accommodated, including those of the local governments.”

Hatta said that the government would continue to let Antam and the local governments “discuss possible deal permutations because the central government is not going to interfere the matter, including the issue of local governments taking a private company as their partner.”

Local government interests would continue to be represented by the joint venture set up for the acquisition, he said.

The governments of West Nusa Tenggara and the Sumbawa and West Sumbawa districts have set up a joint-venture company called PT Daerah Maju Bersaing, along with PT Multicapital, a subsidiary of PT Bumi Resources and PT Bakrie Capital.

In September, former State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil said Antam would lead a consortium of state-owned enterprises, including PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam, a state-coal miner, in partnership with the Finance Ministry’s Government Investment Center (PIP) to take the 14 percent stake.

When contacted by the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday, Alwinsyah Lubis, president director of Antam, welcomed the government’s decision.

“The consortium will also involve PIP and Bukit Asam, but we’ll still need to talk about the details, primarily the allotment of the shares,” Alwinsyah said.

“We will use internal funds to finance the purchase, as well as external funds if needed.”

Sukrisno, Bukit Asam’s president director, said his company was ready to back Antam in the consortium.

“Antam will lead the consortium while Bukit Asam will provide additional funds of around $50 million for the purchase,” Sukrisno said.

In mid-August, the three local governments represented by Zainul Madji, West Nusa Tenggara’s governor, claimed that they had received an official notification letter from the Finance Ministry, appointing them to coordinate the entire divestment process.

Under the government’s current divestment plan, the local governments and their patron Bakrie are only entitled to a separate 10 percent stake in the miner.

Pri Agung Rakhmanto, an energy analyst at the Reforminer Institute, praised the decision, saying that the government had finally fulfilled its commitment to purchase the shares.

“They have answered our doubts about the matter and not given the shares directly to the local governments, which would end up being controlled by private entity,” he said.

“Newmont assets are strategic and by acquiring them, the government has the ability to supervise their exploitation.”

Meanwhile, Heriyadi Rahmat, the West Nusa Tengarra secretary for mining, said that the government’s decision was not the best outcome.

“I’m disappointed that the central government didn’t give its full support to the local administrations,” he said.