REGULATION TO TURN PERTAMINA INTO LISTED COMPANY TO BE COMPLETED IN DECEMBER

Kuta, Bali, Aug 31 (ANTARA) - State oil and gas firm Pertamina expects the government regulation serving as a legal basis to turn it into a publicly-listed company will be completed in December.

The change in Pertamina's status into a publicly-listed company was aimed at making it more transparent so that it would become a reliable and world-class oil company, Pertamina Corporate Secretary Sudirman Said said at a media gathering here on Saturday night.

The government as a shareholder was studying three options to turn Pertamina into a publicly-listed company, he said.
The three options were initial public offering (IPO), limited sales and non-listed company, he said.
"It is likely that Pertamina will become a non-listed company because fluctuations in the capital market will have no impact on it," he said.
Both the Office of the State Enterprises Minister and the Finance Ministry were preparing the regulation serving as a legal basis for the change in the company's status, he said.
Since February this year the management of Pertamina had also made a number of preparations to turn it into a publicly-listed company, he said.
The preparations included an audit of the company's finance by an independent auditor, he said.
Pertamina which produces 156,000 barrels of crude oil and 1,424 million cubic feet of gas per day booked a profit of Rp24 trillion last year.