Jakarta – Indonesia may generate just over half of its targeted 6.5 trillion rupiah (640 million US) in privatisation revenue for the full year, an official said Monday.

Privatisation revenue would be 3.5 trillion rupiah or 53.8 percent of the target with the sale of cement maker Semen Gresik to Mexico-based Cemex SA unlikely before year-end, deputy state enterprises minister for privatisation Muhammad Yasin said.

He told reporters at parliament proceeds from the sale of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia amounted to only 3.12 trillion rupiah while those from the sale of PT Socfindo, a state appraisal firm, reached 400 billion.

"This is far below target but it is not that bad, considering the conditions we faced this year," Yasin said. He said less than the targeted 15 percent of the government's stake in Telkom were sold due to the limited period of the sale process, which involved mostly foreign investors.

On the sale of Semen Gresik, Yasin said it was difficult for the government to complete the sale this year as it would take more time to exercise the sale under the revised terms. The cash-strapped government announced last Friday it would sell a 51-percent stake in Semen Gresik to Cemex for around 530 million dollars.

But, bowing to regional pressure, it said it would then use part of the proceeds to buy back two of the three operating units – Semen Padang in West Sumatra and Semen Tonasa in South Sulawesi. This means final proceeds from the deal would be only an estimated 250-270 million dollars.

Yasin said as part of the process, the government has given Cemex a chance to respond to the new deal this week. "If there is no response, then we have to look for other options," he said.

He said the government was also studying seven alternatives in the Semen Gresik sale, as suggested by financial advisor PT Bahana Securities. "And it will be very difficult to decide on that this year because Cemex has not responded yet. So, it is likely that Semen Gresik's sale will be done next year," he added.