Dahlan Admits Powerless Against Freeport
18 April 2014 07:26 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta- State-owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Dahlan Iskan said that there is little he can do if Freeport refused to pay dividend because the government's share ownership in the company is insignificant compared to other shareholders.
Dahlan said that with a mere 9.3 percent ownership, the government has little bargaining power when the shareholder general meeting decided not to pay its dividend based on a vote.
"We would lose in the vote. They can even make decision without our presence," he said on Thursday, April 17, 2014.
The government has been trying to find a way to ask for dividend by charging interim dividend. But Dahlan said the decision has to be approved by other shareholders.
Earlier, the government had expressed its pessimism over Freeport's willingness to pay dividend this year. Zamkhani, Deputy of Industry at the State-Owned Ministry, said that Freeport has not paid US$125 million of dividend last year.
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