Indonesia to Hold 61 Percent of Freeport Shares, Investment Minister Says
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19 March 2024 11:14 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said Indonesia will become the largest shareholder of PT Freeport Indonesia following the revision of Government Regulation (PP) Number 96 of 2021 concerning the Implementation of Mineral and Coal Mining Business Activities.
Bahlil said that once the revision is completed, Indonesia could control 61 percent of Freeport shares. "Which means, Freeport will no longer belong to others [foreign entity] but to us [Indonesia]," Bahlil said at the Ministry of Investment on Monday, March 18, 2024.
Bahlil said that the revision of the PP was indeed carried out to adjust and accelerate investment certainty, especially large-scale ones. However, he said, the adjustment in PP No. 96 of 2021 will not concern only Freeport.
"It’s an equal treatment for all companies. One of them is Freeport," Bahlil said.
Furthermore, Bahlil stated that one of the points revised in the regulation is the contract extension requirement. In the current provisions, a new contract extension can be submitted no earlier than five years before the contract expires and no later than a year before the contract expires. "We changed this provision because it is integrated with the smelter," he said.
For Freeport, Bahlil went on, the submission of a contract extension can be done immediately to ensure certainty of investment and mine production. Moreover, Bahlil said, Freeport's production is estimated to decline in 2035.
"Meanwhile, we are underground for at least 10 years. If we extend the contract only in 2035, that there will be a vacuum of about 5 to 10 years," Bahlil said.
RIRI RAHAYU
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