Jokowi Ensures Government Decides To Divest Vale Shares This Month

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the government will immediately decide on the plan to divest 51 percent of PT Vale Indonesia's shares in July 2023.

The divestment of share ownership will soon be decided in line with Vale Indonesia's operating and contract period which will expire on December 28, 2025.

"We will decide soon. God willing, we will decide this month. The point is that national interests must come first," said President Jokowi as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, July 3.

Jokowi assessed that the divestment of PT Vale Indonesia was carried out for the sake of the national interest, along with the plan to downstream and industrialize the government.

However, the Head of State also wants to divest with 51 percent share ownership by Indonesia, not detrimental to investors.

"We also don't want to harm investors. Win-win, both must go well, and most importantly industrialization, downstreaming really has to run," said Jokowi.

On the previous occasion, the government was asked to immediately divest shares of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk (INCO).

The implementation of the divestment of 51 percent of Vale Indonesia's shares will be an achievement in the era of President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi) administration because it succeeded in "bringing home" nickel in the country, following a similar success that was inscribed through the divestment of 51 percent of PT Freeport Indonesia's shares.

The divestment that INCO will carry out to meet the requirements for the extension of a special mining permit (IUPK) is 11 percent.

Thus, later the composition of ownership of 31 percent of the Indonesian government through MIND ID, 20.7 percent of the public, and the rest is still owned by Vale Canada and Sumitomo Metal Mining.

However, the 11 percent figure is deemed insufficient to make Indonesia the majority because 20 percent of shares released to the public are owned by foreign institutions through stock transactions, not Indonesian investors.

With the government's majority ownership of shares, Indonesia has the independence to utilize the largest nickel reserves for the benefit of the community.

Moreover, the government has big plans for an electric vehicle ecosystem that requires nickel as battery raw material.