TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Majdi, wants PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, to grant their seven percent final divestiture to the local government as a token of gratitude after receiving huge profits from mining.

"We expect [the remaining shares] to be granted,” said Governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Zainul Majdi as quoted by Antara news agency on Wednesday, October 14.

He said, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) wants to get maximum benefit from the presence of the gold and copper mining company that operates at Batu Hijau, Sekongkang District, West Sumbawa Regency.

Majdi said if the divested shares cannot be bought by state-owned enterprises, then he expect the shares to be handed over to the province.

NTB provincial government wants control of the remaining shares of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) as much as seven percent from the 2010 divestment schedule, making total shares owned by the province and their partners to 31 percent.

PT NNT’s contratct was signed on December 2, 1986. Currently, PTNNT shares is owned by four major groups, namely Nusa Tenggara Partnership BV (NTP), PT Multi Daerah Bersaing (PT MDB), PT Pukuafu Indah (PT PI) and PT Indonesia Masbaga Investama.

The seven percent of foreign shares to be divested is owned by Nusa Tenggara Partnership.

PT MDB is a joint venture formed by PT Daerah Maju Bersaing (DMB), and PT Multicapital, a subsidiary of PT Bumi Resources Tbk., declared eligible to acquire a 14 percent of Newmont’s stake, from 2008 and 2009 divestment process.

DMB itself is a consortium between the Provincial Government of NTB and the Regency Administrations of Sumbawa and West Sumbawa, which was formed to buy the 10 percent share quota divested in 2006 and 2007 which were the rights of the local governments.

BISNIS.COM