Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's majority stake in PT Freeport Indonesia means that the mining company is now Indonesia-owned, thereby benefiting the country more, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).
"I recently went to Tembagapura to visit Freeport, and I need to highlight to my seniors and the elders that Freeport is now owned by Indonesia and is no longer a US-owned company," the president noted in his remarks here, Tuesday.
While opening the Veterans' Legion of Indonesia's (LVRI's) XII Congress and Indonesian Veterans' Wives Association's (PIVERI) XI National Assembly, the president said he refused to visit the then-US-controlled Freeport gold mine before Indonesia holding the majority stake in the company from July 2018.
"Earlier, we only received 9.3-percent (dividends annually), and we endured tough negotiations for three years before successfully holding a 51-percent majority share (of the company)," he noted.
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The president also highlighted that currently, some 98 percent of Freeport Indonesia employees are Indonesians, of which 40 percent are the residents of Papua.
Holding the majority share in PT Freeport Indonesia means that most of the company's revenue, of up to 70 percent, will be received by and benefit Indonesians, he pointed out.
"Now, we receive 51-percent dividends (from Freeport), and we receive greater tax, non-tax state revenues, and export fees as well. Hence, up to 70 percent of Freeport's revenue is received by the government," Jokowi remarked.
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Apart from Freeport, he stated that the government had also taken over the Rokan Block undersea oil and gas fields in Riau from US Company Chevron.
The president spoke of his intent to visit Rokan Block to observe oil and gas production in the region.
"Rokan Block had been controlled by Chevron for 97 years, and now, we owned the asset 100 percent. I am yet to pay a visit there, and in the upcoming months, I will check whether we have increased our production and income or not," he remarked.
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