Indonesia faces deadlock in negotiations with Cemex

The government faces a deadlock in ongoing talks with Cemex SA to settle a dispute over a failed put option deal involving a 51 pct stake in PT Semen Gresik, Bisnis Indonesia reported quoting an unnamed source.

The report quoted the source as saying that Cemex’s legal adviser still objects to some clauses in the amended conditional sale-and-purchase agreement. Bisnis also quoted Lin Che Wei, an expert adviser to State Enterprises Minister Sugiharto, as confirming the deadlock without going into details.

"It is the legal adviser of each party who understands the issue," Che Wei said. Meanwhile, Sugiharto said negotiations have not been completed because there are many clauses that need to be amended. Semen Gresik president Satriyo recently said one of several contentious issues is the government’s proposal to reduce Cemex role on the board of commissioners of Semen Gresik.

With a stake of only 25 pct in Semen Gresik, Cemex should not have taken two of the five seats on the company’s board of commissioners, Satriyo said, adding that the unbalanced composition violates stock-market regulations. Indonesia must settle the dispute out of court or it may be forced to pay Cemex compensation of US$400-500m.