Jakarta – The government has requested that gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of United States-based Freeport McMoRan.inc, sell its shares to Indonesian state-owned enterprises after the company agreed to divest 51 percent of its shares.
"As requested by President [Joko "Jokowi" Widodo], the divestment will be handled by the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry. We [the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry] will play a supporting role," Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said in Jakarta on Wednesday as reported by kontan.co.id.
He said that negotiations between the government and Freeport Indonesia were now focusing on the divestment process, including the valuation of Freeport's shares, how the company will divest its shares and who would buy them.
When asked about several other issues, including investment stabilization as demanded by Freeport and relevant taxes, Jonan said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was in charge of the negotiation.
The divestment agreement with PT Freeport Indonesia was announced by Freeport McMoran CEO Richard Adkerson at a joint press conference with Sri Mulyani and Jonan on Aug. 29.
The company also agreed to convert its contract of work (CoW) into a special mining permit (IUPK), build a smelter within the next five years and increase its contribution to state revenue from its Grasberg mine in Papua. (bbn)