Berau Coal prompted to reduce foreign ownership

Coal producer PT Berau Coal Tbk, which is majority-owned by London-listed Asia Resource Minerals PLC (ARMS), has been reminded by Indonesia's energy ministry to lower its foreign ownership.

Berau operates coal mines in Southeast Asia's largest economy with almost 85% of the Indonesian company controlled by ARMS.

Bisnis Indonesia has reported that there is a possibility that Berau's mining operations will be suspended if there is no divestment of foreign ownership.

"Berau Coal is a corporate matter between shareholders. But as a policy matter, we want coal to be the pillar of our energy security. The more national mines that are controlled by national firms, the better," Energy Minister Sudirman Said commented.

"We remind Berau on divestment, though we don't want to intervene on corporate matters," he said.

Edited from source by Joseph Green

Source: Reuters

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/07052015/indonesia-energy-minister-berau-ownership-2246/