Medco President Director Hilmi Panigoro said described the deal as an important achievement, saying it would give added value to his company.
"With the operation of NNT, which has a global scale, Medco Energi as an Indonesian private company is transforming itself into a world class company," Hilmi said here on Wednesday.
Companys chief commissioner Muhammad Lutfi said the company has an aspiration to become a main contributor to the countrys economic development, leading in global competition, a pioneer in in promoting advancement and innovation.
Lutfi said Medco Energi and AP Investment has cooperated since last year in processing the deal with support from three largest state banks, PT Bank Mandiri, PT Bank Negara Indonesia and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia.
The founder of Medco Energi Arifin Panigoro attributed the success of the deal to support from the Indonesian government.
"The next steps to be taken by the company is to take part to make certain that Indonesia is rich in resources with good quality, and efficiency in competitiveness," Panigoro said.
PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara has a large copper and gold mine in Batu Hijau on the island of Sumbawa, East Nusa Tenggara. Batu Hijau is the biggest copper and gold mine in Indonesia after Freeport-McMoRan Inc.'s Grasberg, Papua.
In 2015, its produced 240 million lbs of copper and 0.3 million oz of gold.
PT Amman Mineral Internasional, an Indonesian consortium, took control of NNT after a deal with the original owner Newmont Mining Corp., the largest U.S. bullion producer. Sumitomo Corp, a shareholder, also agreed to the deal.
Medco Energi Group and AP Investment then bought controlling stakes in Amman Mineral.
The arrangement ends months of negotiations that began after Indonesia banned raw ore shipments and put a progressive tax on concentrates, a semi-processed ore that's shipped to smelters for turning into finished metal.
The move was part of a wider policy to boost revenue by turning the country into a manufacturer of higher-value products and encourage construction of domestic smelters and refineries.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
