State Minister for Indonesian State Enterprises Sugiharto said that he had not yet given approval to Cemex SA’s proposal to sell its 24.9 percent stake in PT Semen Gresik (SG) to a local conglomerate, the Rajawali Group.   "I’ve just arrived back from the Middle East. The government will have to respond within 10 days," Sugiharto told reporters on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting Monday.   He said that the government had a number of options regarding the proposal, but declined to reveal them.  
 
Cemex announced last week that it would sell its 24.9 percent shareholding in the East Java-based SG, the country’s largest cement maker, to Rajawali for US$337 million as part of its efforts to disentangle itself from a four-year dispute with the government.  The transaction has to be approved by the government, which owns a majority 51 per cent stake in SG, to become effective.  
 
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who previously told reporters that the government wanted to see local investors purchase Cemex’s shares in SG, welcomed the Cemex decision, but added that it would all depend on the approval of the State Ministry for State Enterprises.  The pending SG stake purchase would help diversify Rajawali’s asset portfolio, which includes telecommunications, property and mining interests.  
 
Cemex, the world’s third largest cement maker, will maintain a 0.63 percent stake in SG after approval of Rajawali’s share acquisition. The sale will mark the end of the Mexican cement company’s failed attempts to take control of SG.  
 
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