Speaking to the Jakarta Post at PT Timah’s annual shareholders meeting yesterday, the company’s President Director Sukrisno gave a progress report on plans to establish a tin business in Myanmar.
For its expansion to Myanmar, Timah has secured a 10,000-hectare tin concession area in Pubyien-Tamok, Tanihary, Myanmar. If exploration here and possible further concessions is successful, it will establish two subsidiaries to mine tin and to market the tin products, and plans to build a smelter in the country. Timah was currently selecting future partners to form the subsidiaries as they would not be allowed to operate as 100% foreign-owned firms, according to Sukrisno.
“We have received a list of potential partners from the Indonesian Embassy in Myanmar and have found two suitable candidates. We are going to send a team there soon to conduct studies,” he said, adding that Timah would hold majority ownership in the subsidiaries. Timah is allocating $18 million of its capital spending budget for the development of the concession area and Rp 70 billion to Rp 80 billion for the smelter.
Other investment plans presented at the AGM included the acquisition of two coal mines in South Sumatra and East Kalimantan and the development of an industrial zone in Bangka.
