Wednesday, December 26, 2018

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Commentary: Looking at Freeport deal through distorted lens of politics

Published on December 27, 2018

 
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo deserves the highest praise for his appropriate pursuit of resource nationalism. Last Friday, the government finally closed its deal with United States mining giant Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) on acquiring majority shares in its subsidiary Freeport Indonesia’s (FI) Grasberg copper and gold mine in Papua for US$3.85 billion — less than four months before the presidential and legislative elections in April 2019.

Still, it is mind-boggling to hear the perpetual criticisms analysts and the campaign team of presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto have lashed out at the successful FI divestment.
Looking at the FI acquisition only through the distorted political lens of misguided arguments simply insults the people’s intelligence.

Critics have ridiculed the acquisition of the world’s second largest copper and gold mine as a “senseless and stupid move”, asking why the government did not wait until FI’s current contract ended in 2021 — by which time it could simply take over the mine without paying a single rupiah.
These detractors deliberately ignore the legal fact that under Indonesian law, mines operating under a contract of work (CoW) serve as both contractor and investor.

Hence, the government cannot “simply take over” mining operations in the event that the FI contract is not extended beyond 2021, because FCX has the legal right to take home all mining equipment and other fixed assets of its Indonesian subsidiary. Only the mineral deposits laying deep underground belong to the state — mineral resources that have absolutely no value without FI’s technology, expertise, operational system and global network.

This is very different from foreign oil companies, which cannot claim anything after their production sharing contract (PSC) ends, as they are purely contractors.
Taking over the FI mine after the CoW ends without paying due compensation to Freeport as mutually agreed would land the government at the international arbitration court and isolate Indonesia as a pariah of the international community.

If the critics suspect that the price for acquiring majority ownership in FI was unusually high or smacked of irregularities, it would be more productive if they lobbied the House of Representatives to request that the politically independent Supreme Audit Agency conduct an investigative audit into the entire divesture of the world’s most complex mining operation.
The FI divestment was a normal business transaction between the government, through state-owned mining holding company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum), and FCX, as required by the law. The negotiations were long and tough, overshadowed by the sociopolitical controversy of FI’s 50-year operations in the country’s easternmost province.

The fact that FCX — which still holds 48.76 percent ownership in FI after the divestment — did not ask for international arbitration as it had threatened, shows that the US mining giant was satisfied with the deal.

The final stage of the divestment smoothly followed the initial agreement signed in August 2017, followed by a heads of agreement signed in July 2018 and a sales and purchase contract that concluded in September.

Judging from the step-by-step process and the comprehensive due diligence the state financial comptroller (internal audit) and the Attorney General’s Office conducted on the deal, we can rest assured that the acquisition was clean and free of any malfeasance.

Most important for FCX is that the deal secures a 20-year extension of FI’s operations through 2041, and guarantees fiscal and legal certainty under a special mining license protected by the 2009 Mining Law. This is vital to the multi-billion dollars in additional investment that is still needed as the mine’s operation shifts from open-pit to underground next year.

On the other hand, the majority ownership enables the government to control FI management, corporate policies and such business plans as dividend payouts. And the government will have more authority over FI when its CoW ends in 2021 and it recommences operation under the special mining license.

Yet more important is the copper smelter, which will be built in Indonesia as one of the key requirements of the new mining license, and which will in turn allow the government to ascertain the gold content of the mine’s copper concentrates.

The fact that Inalum was able to purchase the acquisition with the proceeds of $4 billion global bonds is another proof that the transaction was clearly commercially viable.

Inalum successfully issued in November a $4 billion total tranche of three-year, five-year, 10-year and 30-year bonds in London with yields of 5.5 to 7.30 percent on a choppy global market from concerns over the US-China trade war, the US’ monetary tightening and slowing growth in Asia.
In using the bonds instead of bank loans, Inalum prudently managed its future debt service burden.
A word of caution, however: FI’s production output — and consequently its profit — will most likely decline in the first two years following the divestment.

But by no means is this legal ground for the critics to sue the ministers or the Inalum CEO for corruption. Nor can such a short-term decline in production be blamed on Inalum’s managerial incompetence, because the potential for this problem has been anticipated as Grasberg commences underground mining operations in 2020.

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Tuesday, December 25, 2018

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Executive column: For insurance, it’s business as usual in election year 

Jakarta   /   Wed, December 26 2018   /  02:48 am 

 

 

Jonathan Hekster (Manulife Indonesia)
Manulife Indonesia, the oldest foreign life insurance company in the country, remains upbeat about the outlook of the industry despite the political noise during the presidential and legislative elections next April, the global uncertainty and financial market volatility.
“We have operated here for over 33 years and we now serve 2.4 million customers. We have faced many uncertain situations and political elections, yet our business has never declined even in an election year,” Manulife Indonesia chief executive officer Jonathan Hekster asserted here.
Hekster told Vincent Lingga of The Jakarta Post that regardless of any situation, life risks come anytime. This is something that people need to be aware of and Manulife Indonesia will help them to anticipate those risks.
Below are excerpts from a recent interview in which Hekster charted out the challenges and outlook of the industry, including health insurance:

Question:
How do you think the political noise during the presidential and legislative elections next year would impact the life insurance business in Indonesia?

Hekster: The political noise will have an impact only on the span of attention of the general public. Regardless of any situation, life risks come anytime, anywhere. This is something that people need to be aware of and we will help them to anticipate those risks. Therefore we remain optimistic that it won’t affect the way we run our business. Moreover, the market potential is quite huge as the latest data at the industry’s association show that life insurance penetration is only 7.1 percent of the estimated 260 million population. Hence, there is still huge potential to fulfill the insurance and protection needs of the different groups of people through the right insurance solutions. The association estimated the industry will grow by 20 or 30 percent this year and will most likely expand at a similar rate next year.
How do you meet the insurance and protection needs of the rising number of middle-class people and high net-worth (top rich) individuals in the country?
Manulife continues to design new products to meet the different needs of our customers: This year alone, for example, we launched three products: Manulife Education Protector (MEP), a regular-pay unit-linked insurance product to help parents plan for their children’s education, MiTreasure Optimax Protection (MiTOP) and Manulife Prime Assurance (MPA) to protect high net-worth customers and prepare them for legacy planning.
The latest Global Wealth Report data showed that there are an estimated 100,000 high net-worth individuals in Indonesia and this number is growing rapidly. A study by Baker McKenzie in 2017 found that more than 50 percent of family businesses in Asia were run by first generation, but only 3 percent of family businesses were run by third generation. Hence, MPA is designed as a comprehensive insurance product to help these rich people balance their lifestyle changes and financial management and to prepare the next generation to take over their family businesses.
Do you think the medical insurance component of life insurance firms could greatly complement the government’s universal health insurance program?
Indonesia’s National Health Insurance (JKN) program has been having a positive impact on the insurance industry by increasing the insurance literacy rate. Both insurance business players and the government have the same mission, which is to increase the people’s welfare with the right financial protection. In principle, the awareness of insurance in general needs to be improved. Manulife has operated in Indonesia since 1985. We understand the culture well. This is why we are maximizing every channel like TV programs for campaigning to promote a healthy lifestyle which is a key component of our medical scheme.
Could you describe the latest trend in the Manulife Sentiment Index?
Our latest Manulife Investor Sentiment Index or MISI survey in 2017 found that Indonesian investors critically underestimate future retirement costs. It revealed that while nearly all investors (96 percent) believe they will maintain or enhance their lifestyle in retirement, their savings are likely to fall far short of their spending, jeopardizing their financial security. Although they place a high priority on retirement planning, ranking it second to paying for their children’s education, nearly a quarter of investors (24 percent) allocate only 10 percent of their savings or less to retirement.
Could you reveal Manulife Indonesia’s performance for this year?
Unfortunately we can’t yet disclose our unaudited result for 2018. But the trend so far shows our performance this year will likely be as robust as last year. Our audited report for 2017 recorded greatly positive developments: Our new business premiums increased by 19 percent to Rp 4.4 trillion (US$314 million), total premium income rose to Rp 25 trillion, consolidated comprehensive profits almost tripled to Rp 2.6 trillion and risk-based capital (RBC) position was 582 percent for conventional business and 372 percent for Tabarru Sharia, both way above the regulatory minimum requirement.

 

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