Owner of Indonesian coal mining giant Bayan in talks on sale

THE owner of Indonesia’s Bayan Resources is in talks to sell a majority stake in the US$28 billion miner to a consortium led by a rival tycoon, in what could be one of the country’s biggest coal deals.

Billionaire Low Tuck Kwong – who owns 40 per cent of Bayan, with a further 22 per cent stake held by his daughter – is negotiating with potential buyers led by Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, better known as Haji Isam, according to people familiar with the matter. Other parties have also expressed interest, one of the people said, asking not to be named as discussions are not public.

The talks are ongoing, and there is no guarantee a sale will be agreed, the people said. The price is likely to be set at a discount to current prices, given Bayan’s limited free float, they added.

In a statement to the stock market earlier this month, responding to market rumours of a sale, Bayan said it was “not aware of any plans to take over and/or acquire” shares, though the controlling shareholders had informed the company they could consider opportunities to maximise their investment.

Contacted on Wednesday (Aug 26), a spokesperson for Bayan referred back to the release. Haji Isam’s Jhonlin Group did not respond to requests for comment.

The deal, if completed, would come at a time of turmoil in the industry. Under President Prabowo Subianto, miners in the world’s top exporter of thermal coal have had their production quotas slashed in an effort to boost prices, while others have paid steep fines for forestry permit violations.

Their tycoon owners, a prime target of Prabowo’s fund-raising campaign, have also been pressured into buying so-called “patriot bonds” with below-market interest rates from Danantara, Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund. Many have face heightened tax audits, while others have battled confiscation of large swathes of palm oil plantation land.

Bayan shares reversed a decline after the Bloomberg report, with the price rising just under 3 per cent in late morning trade. The broad Jakarta Composite Index was little changed.

A purchase, if successful, would propel Haji Isam into the ranks of the country’s biggest coal magnates, given his conglomerate is already a major miner of the fossil fuel. The entrepreneur’s fortunes have risen since former general Prabowo became president in 2024, with his firm taking on a number of key government projects including a massive food estate in Papua.

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For Singapore-born Kwong, it would be the end of multiple decades helming Bayan Resources. The 78-year-old first entered Indonesia’s coal business in the 1990s, buying a coal concession in Kalimantan, Indonesia’s portion of Borneo island. From there he built the company into one of the country’s biggest and most profitable miners, capable of producing more 50 million tons of the fossil fuel.

Kwong has consistently doubled down on coal even as other Indonesian miners like the Adaro Group and PT Indika Energy turned to other commodities, like gold and aluminum. BLOOMBERG