JAKARTA, July 9 -- Indonesia's state enterprises minister Mustafa Abubakar said on Friday the government hopes state miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTM.JK: Quote) will be able to acquire a 100 percent stake in aluminium firm PT Inalum.
Nippon Asahan Aluminium, a consortium of 12 Japanese firms, holds 58.8 percent of PT Inalum, which operates an aluminium smelter in northern Sumatra island, in a 30-year contract expiring in 2013. The Indonesian state owns the rest.
"We have submitted the proposal and hopefully Indonesia can acquire 100 percent of the stake through Antam in a negotiation that will be held soon," Abubakar told reporters.
Indonesia said last month it was considering taking over or increasing its stake in Inalum, so that the output can be sold to the domestic market.
Inalum sells about 60 percent of its aluminium output to Japan while selling the remainder to the local market. The firm produced 255,996 tonnes of aluminium ingots in the fiscal year of April 2009-March 2010.
Indonesia is keen to increase revenue from the mining sector after metals prices soared in 2008, including by pushing for more metal processing at home as stated in a new mining and coal law that took effect in 2009.
