Govt seeks SOE to purchase Newmont stake

JAKARTA: The government is looking for another state firms with a strong equity position to buy a 7 percent stake in PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (PT NNT), a local unit of US-based mining giant Newmont Mining Corporation.

Previously, state mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) said that the company might not buy the stake.

“If Antam cannot buy the stake, we still have other state firms interested in investing [in Newmont]. The firm must have strong capital,” State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Mustafa said that the State-Owned Enterprises and Finance Ministries were examining prospective candidates to buy the stake.

“The government is interested in buying the stake, but we have to find a company,” he said.

The stake is scheduled to be divested by March at the latest. — JP