State Enterprises Minister Refuses to Comment on Indosat Buyback

Karawang, W Java (Antara) - State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan refused to comment on presidential candidate Joko Widodo's plan to buy back telecommunication operator PT Indosat if he is elected as president in the July 9 poll. "I refuse to comment on the issue because Indosat is no longer a state-owned company," he said here on Monday. The government is now a minority shareholder of Indosat, he stated. "So, it is up to the government," he said. In the presidential candidate debate held on Sunday night (June 22), the issue of Indosat became one of the topics of the debate after presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto raised a question to Joko Widodo about the sale of government stake in the satellite and telecommunication company during President Megawati Soekarnoputri government. Jokowi, as Joko Widodo is popularly called, said the release of Indosat shares was inevitable as the country was hit by monetary crisis in 1998. He noted that the sale purchase agreement carried a clausal, which allows the Indonesian government to buy back the shares. "Any time in the future, we will buy the shares back at a fair price," he said. Currently, Ooredoo Asia Pte Ltd of Qatar owns 65 percent of Indosat, Indonesian government 14.29 percent, a US company 5.42 percent, and the public 15.29 percent. (*) Reported by Royke Sinaga