<article><p>Indonesia&#8217;s President Joko Widodo has instructed his administration to complete negotiations over the purchase of a majority stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc&#8217;s local unit by the end of April, a cabinet minister said on Monday.</p></article>

<p>Indonesia&#8217;s President Joko Widodo has instructed his administration to complete negotiations over the purchase of a majority stake in Freeport-McMoRan Inc&#8217;s local unit by the end of April, a cabinet minister said on Monday.</p>
<p>&#8220;According to the president, it should be wrapped up before the end of April, valuation and all,&#8221; Energy Minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters.</p>
<p>The government, through a state-owned company, will buy the shares in PT Freeport Indonesia at &#8220;a reasonable price,&#8221; including by acquiring Rio Tinto&#8217;s participating interest in the massive Grasberg mine and converting it into shares, he said.</p>
<p>Freeport Indonesia and Rio Tinto were not immediately available to comment.</p>
<p>Freeport in January said it was edging closer to a permit deal with Indonesia for Grasberg, the world&#8217;s second-biggest copper mine, but the miner cautioned it had not struck any formal agreements.</p>
<p>There has been little sign of progress since last August, when Freeport promised to divest a 51-percent stake in Grasberg to the Indonesian government in exchange for long-term operating rights. The government currently owns a less-than-10 percent stake in Freeport Indonesia.</p>
<p>A fair price for the shares has been a key sticking point in the negotiation.</p>
<h4><em>Reuters</em></h4>


Indonesia President Joko Widodo has instructed his administration to complete talks over the purchase of majority in Freeport-McMoRan unit by April-end.

Indonesian president wants to wrap up talks over purchase of Freeport unit by end-April

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Indonesian president wants to wrap up talks over purchase of Freeport unit by end-April

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