By Fitri Wulandari on March 29, 2012
Indonesia may ask foreign investors
that are majority owners of mining companies to sell shares to
the government to comply with a law that lowers their ownership,
an energy and mineral resources ministry official said.
If the government declines, the stake can be offered to
state-owned or private companies, Fadli Ibrahim, head of the
legal division at the directorate general of minerals and coal,
told reporters in Jakarta today. The guidelines will be ready
this year, he said.
“This is a preliminary draft,” Ibrahim said, without
specifying when the regulation will be issued. “We still need
inputs to perfect it.”
Indonesia wants a greater share of mining profits and has
asked foreign holders of licenses to cut their stakes to 49
percent within 10 years of starting production, according to a
decree signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in February.
A 2009 mining law mandated local ownership of at least 20
percent in ventures by the sixth year of production.
Shares can be offered through a tender if there is more
than one bidder from among state or private companies, Ibrahim
said.
Mining companies with majority foreign holders that plan to
list on the stock exchange must complete the divestment before
selling shares in an initial public offering, he said.
The regulation applies to companies with mining business
licenses. Miners such as Vale SA (VALE5), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold
Inc. and Newmont Mining Corp. currently operate under contracts
of work and need to apply for mining business licenses when
their permits expire.
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