Hike in Indonesian coal royalties will cost jobs, spur illegal mining: exec

Jakarta

INDONESIA'S plans to ramp up coal royalties next month will cost 150,000 jobs and lead to a rise in illegal mining activities, the head of an industry group told Reuters in an interview.

The world's top exporter of thermal coal is looking to increase revenues from its mining sector this year, but its plans to roughly double coal royalties are expected to hurt smaller companies producing low-quality grades.