P

ublicly listed electronic retailer PT Agis, which has ventured into the mining business, said on Monday that its subsidiary PT Agis Resources had signed an agreement to acquire a gold mining company in West Sumatra.

Agis said that Agis Resources signed last Friday a conditional sale and purchase agreement on the acquisition plan. “Agis Resources will control a majority stake of more than 60 percent in the company,” Agis corporate secretary Mohammad Noor Syahriel said in a written statement. He declined to mention the name or the details of the gold mining company.

He only said that the company owned a mining license — locally known as IUP — on more than 2,500 hectares of land in West Sumatra.

“Following the agreement, Agis Resources will control two mining sites in West Sumatra,” Syahriel said.

Agis Resources is a joint venture between Agis and Chinese firm Fujian Xinjifu Enterprises Group Co. Ltd. Agis holds a 51 percent stake in Agis Resources while Fujian Xinjifu holds the remaining 49 percent.

“The signing of the agreement is Agis’ move to diversify its business to the mining sector. Agis Resources is expected to start operations soon and contribute to Agis,” Syahriel said.

Agis is a holding company investing in distribution and retail of consumer electronics, home appliances, computing and multimedia devices, telecommunication products and services as well as logistics, after-sale service and multimedia services. It was founded around 30 years ago as the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of Sony products in Indonesia.

Last year, Agis signed agreement with Fujian Xinjifu, a company running businesses in mining, factory production and trade of basic metals, to jointly develop mining operations in Indonesia.

Last October, Agis, through Agis Resources, signed a cooperation agreement with PT China Coal Geology Mining (CCGM), which is a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned China National Administration of Coal Geology. Under the agreement, CCGM will be the contractor for Agis Resources’ gold exploration and exploitation projects.

Besides expanding to gold mining, Agis Resources will also develop a steel smelting plant on 10 hectares of land in Semarang, Central Java. The steel smelter will have an annual capacity of 300,000 tons and will be operated by a joint venture between Agis Resources and an undisclosed party that owns the land to be used for the project.

Agis’ announcement of its acquisition plan on Monday failed to lift the price of its shares, which are traded under the code TMPI on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. TMPI closed 3.92 percent down at Rp 490 apiece on Monday compared to Rp 510 last Friday.