VIVAnews - The government vows that the agreement on new divestment price of shares belonging to PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara can be settled within 180 days, as decided in the International Arbitration.
According to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro on Wednesday, April 22, the District Court of South Jakarta is prepared to take a verdict on the arbitration's decision. In addition, the government is studying the implication of the arbitration's verdict.
In the verdict, Newmont has to divest 17 percent of its shares to the Indonesian party within 180 days since the arbitration issued the verdict. If Newmont fails to divest its shares, the government can annul its working contract.
In line with the working contract signed in 1986, Newmont is obligated to release 51 percent of its shares from 2006 until 2010 to the Indonesian institution. Since 20 percent of its shares are controlled by national businessman Jusuf Merukh, Newmont still has to sell 31 percent of the remaining shares five times within five years.
However, in the first two years (2006-2007), the divestment of three and seven percent of Newmont shares was in trouble. Due the the failure, the Indonesian government filed a lawsuit to the international arbitrage last year on the divestment case.
In 2008, the divestment of seven percent of third-phase share failed. Nonetheless, no clear reason was made available concerning the divestment failure. In three years, total shares that must be divested reach 17 percent.
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Translated by: Bonardo Maulana Wahono