PT ICA to resume operation in September

Pontianak, W. Kalimantan, June 4 (Antaranews Kalbar) - PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (ANTAM) said PT Indonesia Chemical Alumina (ICA) in Tayan, West Kalimantan, will resume operation in September this year after being lying idle for sometime .

"Now PT ICA has been wholly taken over by PT ANTAM Tbk and in early September it would resume operation," Chief Executive of the state-owned mining company Arie Prabowo Ario Tedjo said here on Monday.

Arie said PT ANTAM already acquired the 20 percent stake in PT ICA from its Japanese shareholder in Tokyo last week.

"Hopefully PT ICA would resume operation in September and in November it could operate commercially," he said.

He said after the takeover, PT ICA is no longer dependent on Japan. "We ourselves determine the fate of PT ICA; hopefully it would be better and successful," he said.

He said the company needs support from the stakeholders mainly in security and harmony between PT ANTAM Tbk and all stakeholders.

In mid last year, PT ANTAM Tbk announced it would evaluate investment in PT Indonesia Chemical Alumina (PT ICA) after Showa Denko KK (SDK) of Japan terminated cooperation with PT ICA.

PT ICA was a joint venture company between Antam as a 80 percent owner and SDK as a 20 percent shareholder, operating a Chemical Grade Alumina (CGA) factory in Tayan.

ANTAM said the termination of cooperation by SDK followed failure of PT ICA in recording profitability and level of production as expected.

After the termination of cooperation by the Japanese shareholder, the factory stopped operation.

In Sept. 2017, PT Antam extended a loan of US$34.55 million or around Rp460.23 billion to PT Indonesia Chemical Alumina, which used the fund to repay its debt to Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and other commercial banks.

PT Antam as the majority shareholder is responsible to help PT ICA to meet its debt obligations.

PT Antam said without the support PT ICA would be in default as it could not repay its mature debts to JBIC and commercial banks as written in its common terms agreement (CTA).

ICA had long term loans from Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Mizuho Bank Ltd, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd.

The loans totaled US$34.55 carrying an interest rate under LIBOR (floating rate)+3,25 percent per year.

ICA is a pioneer in CGA industry in Indonesia operating in Tayan, processing bauxite ore into CGA. It has a production capacity of 300,000 tons of CGA per year .

The market targets for its CGA is export and domestic markets . ICA produces chemical in the form of aluminium hydroxide used by aluminum industry.