Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Freeport Indonesia has announced plans to pay dividends worth Rp1.5 trillion to the Indonesian government for 2012. The number declined 14.77 percent from the Rp1.76 trillion posted last year by the company.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said that the dividends will be distributed in accordance to the government's minority stake in the company. In addition to Freeport, the government also holds minority stakes in PT Indosat Tbk and PT Socofindo.
"With the contribution of dividends from minority interests, dividends for the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry in 2012 stood at Rp30.78 trillion," Dahlan said in a meeting with the House of Representatives.
Freeport had paid greater dividends amounting to Rp2.09 trillion in the fiscal year 2009. However, the dividends allocated were down 27.75 percent to Rp1.51 trillion in 2010.
For the next year though, the government has proposed a dividend of Rp31.1 trillion for the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry. This deposit may later be increased to Rp32.645 billion, when the company pays dividends during the same year. Speaking on the occasion, Dahlan however added, "Freeport will not be able to provide for the projected dividend after considering the current situation in Papua".(IGT)
